Authorities will spend Christmas day battling fires across Victoria – ahead of a predicted increase in fire danger on boxing day. The out-of-control bushfire in the Grampians national park has been burning for more than a week razing more than 40,000 thousand hectares of bush. Residents in Halls Gap are told it is not safe to return, while people in the surrounding areas of Willaura and Moyston are urged to monitor the conditions as they are changing.
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00:00After a few days of relative reprieve, fire authorities are bracing themselves for some
00:07very challenging conditions this week.
00:09Hot and windy conditions are forecast for Christmas Day and Boxing Day across Victoria.
00:15On Christmas Day, temperatures are expected to spike to 35 degrees in parts of the state.
00:20And on Boxing Day, northerly winds are expected to pick up again and temperatures are expected
00:25to spike to the mid-40s in parts of the state.
00:28High or extreme fire dangers are in place for all of the state, with a catastrophic
00:33day forecast for the Wimmera region, which includes parts of the Grampians, including
00:38Halls Gap.
00:39There are hundreds of firefighters involved in this response, and over 100 firefighters
00:44will be coming from interstate to support Victorian crews on the response.
00:49In order to prepare for the coming week, fire authorities say it's a non-negotiable for
00:54Victorians to have the Vic Emergency app downloaded and have an alert set for their
00:59area so that they can be aware of developments in their area.
01:02On Boxing Day, there may be power outages which could impact telecommunications and
01:07people are urged to have access to an emergency broadcaster in case they need up-to-date information.
01:13And people travelling on this day should also avoid travelling in the heat of the day.