Bushfires in Australia are on the rise due to increase in temperatures. Authorities asked residents in remote parts of Tasmania state to evacuate immediately as a spring heatwave spread fires in the southeast of the country. A bushfire in Victoria State, Australia, grew three times overnight.
High winds overnight spread the flames across an area of about 17,000 hectares (66 square miles) in Victoria State’s Gippsland region, according to state fire authorities, who had sent out about 650 firefighters.
Jason Heffernan, chief officer at Country Fire Authority Victoria, said, “We moved in strike teams in the very early hours of this morning. It is quite a large fire spread across a large area. … It’s proving to be quite difficult, burning in private property but also some pine plantations.”
Residents on the northern edge of Flinders Island in Tasmania State received evacuation orders due to an out-of-control blaze.
In the Southeast, fires are being fueled by hot, dry winds as the nation suffers an unusually scorching spring. According to the Bureau of Meteorology, Australia started spring with the driest September on record, with rainfall 71% below the normal between 1961 and 1990.
Tuesday afternoon, conditions in Victoria are predicted to change quickly as heavy rains are expected which can aid in putting out fire but also have the potential to cause flash flooding.
“It’s very concerning. There’s a bit of a running joke down here in Victoria you can expect four seasons in one day and I gotta tell you, today, they’re not wrong,” Heffernan added.
(Photo: Reuters/ May 11 2023) (Representative Image)
Ⓒ Copyright 2023. All Rights Reserved Powered by Vygr Media.
