(Melbourne) Authorities have called on thousands of Australians to evacuate in the face of an advancing “volatile” bushfire that firefighters are working to control on Friday in the state of Victoria, in the south of the country.
The fire, located a two-hour drive northwest of the capital Melbourne, has already ravaged around 10,000 hectares of forests and farmland.
A thousand firefighters were deployed. “They will be supported by water bombing planes, including large air tankers, we are sending them everything we can,” Jason Heffernan, the state fire chief, said on the television channel. ABC national television.
“I expect the fire to remain quite dynamic and volatile,” he added. “We’re not out of the woods yet.”
Emergency services have urged thousands of residents in 28 fire-hit rural communities to leave their homes and take shelter in evacuation centers.
“During this dangerous and difficult time, all Australians are thinking of those who are bravely working to save lives and homes,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a statement posted on social media.
“Our thoughts are with all those dealing with the fires,” he added.
After several wet years, Australia is facing one of the worst periods of bushfires since the catastrophic one of 2019-2020.
During this period, which Australians call “the black summer”, bushfires devastated the country’s east coast, razing forests, killing millions of animals and shrouding cities in noxious smoke.