Australia fires force evacuations as country swelters in ‘scorching’ heat amid record temperatures
- State Emergency Services Minister announced the start of an official bushfire danger period, with the ‘scorching’ heat lifting the risk for the week ahead
- ‘To even be within cooee [near to records] on the first day of the month is unusual, for sure,’ Angus Hines, senior meteorologist, said
Out-of-control bushfires forced hundreds of residents and tourists to flee several towns in rural southeast Australia on Sunday, as the country sweltered in extreme temperatures.
People in four towns in Victoria state’s Gippsland, a region of national parks and wineries popular with tourists, were told to evacuate immediately while residents of three other towns and surrounding areas were warned to prepare to leave.
Among those who escaped was Briagolong resident Rob Saunders, who saw the flames reach his house.
“I watched the main water tank, the plastic tanks melt away”, he told public broadcaster ABC. “The car port is gone, the camper trailer and bits and pieces all went up [in flames].
“I looked to the side of my house, it’s a mud brick, raw timber house, one of my veranda posts was on fire … it was time for me to go,” he said.
Further north in Sydney, temperatures reached 35.5C (95.9F) – the warmest October day since 2019. The hottest October day on record was 38.2C in 2004.
