Victorian communities are once again on edge, after extreme weather fanned fast moving bushfires west of Ballarat. People in Beaufort have been told to leave their homes as out-of-control fires are bearing down the town.
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00 A swirling, destructive bushfire on the move in Western Victoria and edging dangerously
00:09 close to houses, including this 150-year-old former primary school in Raglan, which Ian
00:16 O'Brien made his home 30 years ago.
00:18 I'm bloody real worried.
00:20 Yeah.
00:21 I can't think.
00:22 I'm just sort of, yeah, I've got that real sick and itch tummy.
00:26 The fire started just south of Warwick and by mid-afternoon, the Western Highway was
00:31 closed and more than a dozen towns, including Beaufort, were warned to evacuate and go to
00:37 Ballarat.
00:38 I'd say there's a few houses gone behind me.
00:42 What do you do?
00:43 Leaving immediately.
00:44 Leaving immediately is the safest option.
00:48 24 aircraft, including water bombers, have helped keep flames away from some homes.
00:54 And on the ground, 100 vehicles and 1,000 firefighters are scrambling to do what they
01:00 can.
01:01 But it's a dynamic situation.
01:04 And in Raglan, north of Beaufort, what seemed far away was soon dangerously close.
01:10 The fire has been growing and changing quite rapidly.
01:13 There are now concerns about spot fires and potential of lightning to be created in that
01:18 big smoke column that we're seeing.
01:21 The warnings have now changed.
01:22 Fireys, emergency services are now telling people here in Raglan that they should also
01:27 evacuate.
01:28 The fire soon spotting hundreds of metres ahead.
01:32 A cool change is expected, but little rain is forecast and it's feared strong southwesterly
01:38 winds will simply push the blaze faster towards towns.
01:43 In effect, that will turn one side of the fire that is currently what we call a flank
01:47 or the side of the fire into the main fire front and will bring more communities under
01:51 threat tonight.
01:52 I expect those wind conditions to continue into about midnight tonight.
01:58 Last week, 46 properties in Pomonal near the Grampians were destroyed by bushfire.
02:05 Now another tense night as smoke fills the air in Victoria's west.
02:09 [BLANK_AUDIO]