One person was killed on Friday and thousands forced to flee their homes as forest fires flared during the heatwave affecting southern Australia, fire authorities said.
There were 70 separate bushfires in the state of Victoria, most sparked by lightning strikes. Around half were burning out of control as volunteer firefighting brigades tackle the infernos in 40-degree heat, the fire services said.
The fiercest blazes were in the Grampians high country, 250 kilometres west of Melbourne, where 21,000 hectares were burned out and one death reported, said the Country Fire Authority (CFA).
CFA ordered an evacuation from threatened areas early Friday, fearing that a change in wind direction could force brigades to retreat from erratic fire-fronts and leave residents without help. But it later told people in Halls Gap and other Grampians tourist towns to hunker down, judging it too dangerous to flee.
“Halls Gap is seriously under threat when the wind change occurs later today,” CFA chief Euan Ferguson told reporters.
Many campers in Halls Gap were reported to have left overnight.
Published - January 17, 2014 12:11 pm IST