Bushfires in Victoria and South Australia

I will report more on this as more news comes to hand

Bushfires burn across Victoria, South Australia as heatwave continues

Residents in Victoria's Northern Grampians are being told to take shelter as a massive bushfire burns out of control on another day of extreme heat.

ABC,
17 January, 2013

27 January, 2014Dozens of bushfires are burning in Victoria and South Australia and temperatures are tipped to reach 44 degrees Celsius in Melbourne and 42C in Adelaide.

Total fire bans are in place across both states.

In Victoria, emergency warnings are active for Cherrypool, Glenisla, Glenisla Crossing, Heathvale, Wartook and Laharum in the Northern Grampians.

Residents in Brimpaen, Laharum, Wartook and Heathvale have been told it is too late to leave and they must seek shelter.

CFA chief officer Euan Ferguson says a serious situation is developing ahead of likely wind change this afternoon.

For the latest information and fire warnings, visit the Country Fire Authority Victoria and the South Australian Country Fire Service.

Follow events as they unfold on OUR BLOG.

UPDATE: One person has been confirmed dead in the massive Grampians bushfire in Victoria that is burning out-of-control in extreme conditions.

More than 100 bushfires are burning across Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales as a searing heatwave grips Australia's south-east and pushes temperatures above 40 degrees.

In Victoria, there are 72 bushfires with 43 of them burning out of control; in South Australia hundreds of firefighters are battling 16 blazes; and in NSW there are almost 50 blazes burning with 12 of them out of control.

Authorities have now confirmed the death of one person in the Northern Grampians blaze, with earlier reports saying a body had been found at the worst-affected community of Wartook.

There are also reports that houses in the same area have been lost and properties have been completely burnt out by what locals describe as a "vicious" fire.

Residents in some communities have been told to leave now while they still can but others have been told it is too late to flee and the must take shelter immediately.

Victoria's Country Fire Authority chief officer Euan Ferguson says a serious situation is developing, with fears a wind change will worsen conditions.

"We want to warn the community that many losses historically have occurred after the wind change," he said.

Evacuation recommendations are in place for some communities in the Northern Grampians with authorities fearing they will not be able to stop the blaze in today's extreme conditions.

Authorities are also contacting residents in the communities of Halls Gap, Pomonal and Dadswell Bridge.

In Halls Gap, hotels and motels are empty, police are doorknocking homes and there is a steady stream of people leaving after locals were told to get out, with the fire expected to hit the town at 3:00pm (AEDT).

Laharum resident Lee Hutchinson fled towards South Australia with his wife and two children around 4:00am (AEDT) when he could see the blaze from his lounge room.

"Huge masses of trees igniting. Probably flames reaching 40, 50, up to 100 feet in the air so it was fairly intense," he said.

CFA officials are also flying over central Victoria and Gippsland to assess how many fires have been started by lightning there overnight.