SYDNEY: A massive bushfire in Australia’s Victoria state that has killed livestock and destroyed properties prompted new evacuation alerts on Saturday for many rural towns.
Emergency officials early Saturday issued fresh warnings for the blaze, which on Thursday prompted over 2,000 people to leave areas in the state’s west and head to the nearby Ballarat, west of state capital Melbourne.
Vic Emergency said on its website that leaving immediately is the only safest option, before situation becomes too dangerous. The department said that the highest danger was for rural communities of Bayindeen, Elmhurst, Mount Lonarch and Chute.
New Warnings Issued for Bushfire-threatened Australian Rural Areas
Earlier on Friday, Jason Heffernan, chief officer of Victoria state fire department said that early reports showed losses of livestock and sheds in the blaze, with one home confirmed damaged.
Local media also reported on Saturday that 3 homes and many outbuildings had been completely destroyed. About 1,000 firefighters supported by 50 aircraft have battled the fire since it broke out earlier this week in the country.
Australia is presently in the grips of an El Nino weather pattern, which is linked with extreme phenomena such as cyclones, wildfires, and droughts.
The last two bushfire seasons in Australia destroyed an area the size of Turkey, killed around 33 people, 3 billion animals and invertebrates.
