All eyes are on a bushfire in Victoria that has been raging for weeks as southern Australia swelters through a three-day heatwave.
Hot conditions are expected to continue on Sunday from central Australia to the south-east, with pockets in Victoria’s east and New South Wales’s south-east to experience severe conditions until late Sunday.
Firefighters are on high alert in Victoria as a fire in the Grampians, which began in mid-December, continues to burn.
It has been declared an extreme fire danger day in the Mallee, Central and North Central regions with a warning of high fire danger in all other parts of Victoria.
Total fire bans have been declared in the Mallee, Wimmera, South West, North Central and Central (which includes Melbourne and Geelong) districts.
The Country Fire Authority chief officer, Jason Heffernan, said the total fire ban had been declared because of the potential for gusty conditions.
“This weekend’s hot and windy conditions pose a big risk for the state with significant fires already in the landscape,” he said.
“Heatwaves can be incredibly dangerous, and they kill more Australians than any other natural event.”
He said it was important for travellers to remain alert and up to date with fire danger warnings throughout the summer season.
Authorities are monitoring fire threats in two of Victoria’s most popular national parks on opposite sides of the state, with tourists and locals in the Grampians and Wilsons Promontory urged to monitor alerts.
The Grampians national park bushfire has eased but continues to burn, with four houses and several other buildings lost in recent weeks.
More than 76,000 hectares of the Grampians – equivalent to the size of Singapore – have been burnt.
A heatwave warning for South Australia, NSW, Victoria and Tasmania has been issued by the Bureau of Meteorology, with temperatures expected to reach the 40s in some parts of the country on Sunday.
Meteorologist Jonathon How said conditions should start to ease on Monday for South Australia and Victoria, but NSW won’t get any relief until the middle of the week.
“Low intensity heatwaves are common at this time of year, but once we get into the severe category, especially with a run of hot days and warm nights, some people can find it challenging,” he said.
In NSW, fire crews fought 40 fires across the state on Saturday with the help of waterbombing aircraft.
A number of those fires were burning in or around the Yengo and Wollemi national parks and near the Attunga State Forest.
