On the fifth anniversary of some of the most devastating bushfires in Victoria’s history authorities are preparing for a weekend of high-risk conditions, with total fire bans across the state.
Extreme heat and winds have been forecast against an already dry landscape for Saturday and Sunday, with temperatures expected to stay as high as 30 degrees overnight in Melbourne on Saturday.
Many areas in Victoria will have fire danger ratings of extreme or severe over the weekend. The fire ratings on Black Saturday, five years ago, were code red.
“It’s different to Black Saturday but that’s not to say we can’t see fires that will have significant impact on communities, threaten people and certainly cause injury and possibly death. They’re the sort of conditions we are up against,” Fire Services Commissioner Craig Lapsley said.
The conditions are expected to be the worst the state has faced this summer.
“Victoria now is dry,” Mr Lapsley said. “Anywhere in Victoria will run a fire and run a fire of some significance. Don’t be fooled by the fact that you are in some urban areas, the urban interface is as big a threat as rural Victoria.”
Ten fires continue to burn in remote bushland in the Gippsland area and are not expected to be contained before the weekend.
More than 1200 fire stations are on full alert for the weekend, and 56 Victorian aircraft will be ready to dispatch, with assistance at hand from NSW and South Australia.
“We are at our highest level of preparedness, we are ready to go and we are certainly relying on the community,” Mr Lapsley said.
Emergency Services Minister Kim Wells urged Victorians to have their fire-ready plans in place. “There is nothing more important than the preservation of life,” he said.
“It is absolutely crucial that your fire plans are in place, know when to leave, know where to go, know how to keep in touch with your family.”
Victoria Police’s 250-strong specialist arson taskforce are also preparing for patrols after an emergency management meeting on Friday morning, Mr Wells said.
BOM senior forecaster Andrea Peace said temperatures are expected to reach as high as 42 degrees on Saturday and may remain in the 30s overnight in Melbourne.
“This weekend Victorians can expect to endure more hot, dry and windy weather no matter where they are in the state,” she said.
“Sunday is expected to be a critical fire weather day with severe to extreme fire weather dangers across the central and eastern parts of the state.
“A northerly wind will begin to strengthen in the early hours of Sunday morning with broad areas of 60 to 80-kilometre-an-hour northerly winds expected ahead of a strong, gusty south-westerly change.”
The change is expected to hit Melbourne about 10am on Sunday before moving east, where conditions are expected to remain the most dangerous in the state until the afternoon or early evening, she said.
Temperatures are expected to drop to the low to mid 20s in the south of the state after the Sunday change, but could remain above 30 degrees in northern areas, she said.
