Local fire brigades urge those near bushfires: ‘Don’t be a hero’
Cait Kelly
Seymour, to the west of the Longwood fire, has hit 31C before 9am. The town is quiet, the main strip almost empty as everyone stays out of the heat. Communities around the fire are bracing themselves today as worsening conditions mean the fire is expected to grow. No one knows where the wind will take it.
Hilldene Fire Brigade posted on Facebook last night that there were 93 trucks, 400 people, and aircraft fighting a “losing battle”.
Our people faced treacherous, punishing conditions … and that was before tomorrow. Because here’s the truth: S#*t’s real. Catastrophic days are deadly.
On days like this, fires cannot be controlled. And that’s exactly what Friday the 9th is shaping up to be: S#*t. Dangerous. Uncontrollable.
They urged residents in evacuation areas to leave immediately.
So don’t be stupid. Don’t try to be a hero. Listen to the warnings. Follow the directions. Stay vigilant.
Your decisions matter – to you, your family, your neighbours … and to every volunteer out there fighting for their communities.
Key events
‘One of the most dangerous fire days that this state has experienced in years’: premier
The Victoria premier, Jacinta Allan, is speaking about the severe danger the threat of bushfires poses to the state, pointing to the fires creating their own weather patterns – including lightning, which has itself started new fires.
She said:
Today represents one of the most dangerous fire days that this state has experienced in years. In recent days, and particularly overnight, we have seen how the existing fire activity has become more extreme, with the fires themselves creating additional weather, lighting starting new fires in a number of locations across the state and also with strong winds and with more strong winds predicted to come over the course of the today …
This combination of weather factors simply creates the conditions where fires in the landscape can very quickly become uncontrollable.
Allan is calling on anyone in a dangerous location that has been told to leave to do so now.
Do not wait, do not second-guess the advice.
Forty fires so far across Victoria, 30 of which that remain active
Tim Wiebusch, Victoria’s commissioner of emergency management, said 40 fires have already occurred across the state, including 30 that remain active amid the ongoing heatwave.
He said anyone in a bushfire prone area should leave for their own safety:
If you don’t leave now, it could result in your life being lost.
Wiebusch confirmed reports that multiple community and residential properties have been lost, particularly around the town of Ruffy. He said it was too dangerous to enter the area, but aerial surveys showed the damage.
He added conditions will remain challenging and difficult anywhere in the state today, noting that “here will be periods where our aviation fleet … will not be able to fly”.
We’re standing by for a press conference out of Victoria as the state battles a heatwave and multiple bushfires. We’ll bring you live updates as soon as the event starts.
PM urges Australians to ‘prepare for the worst’ amid bushfire risk
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, spoke with officials in Canberra this morning, later urging residents to “prepare for the worst” amid the heatwave.
He said:
These are difficult times and we are confronting some extreme weather conditions in different parts of Australia.
I’d say this is an opportunity for me to emphasise that people need to listen to the advice as it comes through. If you’re asked to leave your property, please do so. If you have advice obviously always never, ever risk driving through floodwaters. We hope for the best but we prepare for the worst.
Ley says Bondi royal commission should reach into ‘every corner’, including arts and academia
Opposition leader Sussan Ley is speaking again about the Bondi royal commission announced yesterday. She said the body should look into “every corner” where antisemitism is present, including the university sector and the arts.
She said:
Radical Islamic hatred has led to a situation in Australia … where unacceptable speech and actions in the community have had the consequences that we have seen.
And we want the royal commission to confront that, and we want it to reach into every corner where it is present. Whether it be the university sector, academia, the arts … there is a big task ahead of us.
At least 10 properties destroyed in Ruffy while a firefighter is in hospital with third-degree burns
Country Fire Authority captain George Noye, who lives in the regional town of Ruffy, near the Longwood fire, said at least 10 properties have been destroyed, AAP reports.
An old school that operated as a community hub has also been destroyed.
Noye said a member of his crew is in hospital with third-degree burns to his hands.
“We got smashed by the fire spots,” he told the AAP.
An update on fire bans across Australia
South Australia currently has total fire bans across the state’s entire south, including 11 districts stretching from its western to eastern borders.
The entire state of Victoria is under a total fire ban today.
In New South Wales, four districts along the border with Victoria – the Southern Riverina, Eastern Riverina, Southern Slopes and Monaro Alpine – are all under a total fire ban.
The ACT will be under a total fire ban on Saturday and Tasmania will implement a total fire ban across the state’s south and Furneaux Island this weekend.
Why does Melbourne’s train network melt down in the heat?
Stephanie Convery
Every Melburnian is familiar with delays, timetable alterations and sometimes outright chaos on the city’s train network on hot days, but why does it occur?
Melbourne’s trains regularly travel at speeds of up to 110km/h, according to operator Metro Trains. In extreme heat, however, the steel rails can expand, which makes travelling at high speeds risky.
Electronic monitors are fitted to each of the lines, which network controllers use to constantly keep an eye on the temperature of the rails. The monitors measure actual track temperature, which can differ significantly from the ambient or air temperature, especially in direct sunlight.
When the track temperature reaches 55C or higher, the maximum speed limit of the trains is restricted to 80km/h for the affected section of track.
But on days when Melbourne’s weather forecast includes ambient temperatures of 42C or higher, the trains across the whole network are slowed to 70km/h, resulting in reduced or slower services.
Parts of Melbourne reached nearly 42C on Wednesday. That heat caused delays to the Craigieburn, Sunbury, Upfield, Werribee, Williamstown, Mernda and Hurstbridge lines, and buses replaced trains on the Craigieburn line between Essendon and North Melbourne from around 5.10pm to 6pm.
With Melbourne expected to hit 43C today, commuters can expect those delays across the entire train network. Metro says all disruptions are communicated via station and on-board announcements, posts on X, transport alerts and on the Metro Notify app. Their website also has close to realtime services tracking.
A Metro Trains spokesperson said:
We know how important it is for passengers to get where they need to, which is why we use a range of strategies throughout the year to make sure trains run safely during Melbourne’s hotter months.
Tracks can expand in extreme temperatures and trains may need to travel at slower speeds to ensure everyone’s safety, which is our priority. We thank passengers for their patience.
Local fire brigades urge those near bushfires: ‘Don’t be a hero’
Cait Kelly
Seymour, to the west of the Longwood fire, has hit 31C before 9am. The town is quiet, the main strip almost empty as everyone stays out of the heat. Communities around the fire are bracing themselves today as worsening conditions mean the fire is expected to grow. No one knows where the wind will take it.
Hilldene Fire Brigade posted on Facebook last night that there were 93 trucks, 400 people, and aircraft fighting a “losing battle”.
Our people faced treacherous, punishing conditions … and that was before tomorrow. Because here’s the truth: S#*t’s real. Catastrophic days are deadly.
On days like this, fires cannot be controlled. And that’s exactly what Friday the 9th is shaping up to be: S#*t. Dangerous. Uncontrollable.
They urged residents in evacuation areas to leave immediately.
So don’t be stupid. Don’t try to be a hero. Listen to the warnings. Follow the directions. Stay vigilant.
Your decisions matter – to you, your family, your neighbours … and to every volunteer out there fighting for their communities.
Cait Kelly
Ruffy resident describes fire jumping from ridge to ridge: ‘You can’t stop it’
Continuing on from the last post …
Otzen said he had never seen anything like this fire, with crews watching it jump from ridge to ridge.
It’s really hot, it’s really dry. The moisture content in the air is down to less than 10%. The moisture content in the grass is really, really low, because we’ve had strong winds for a couple of weeks.
And you just get a bit of hot wind behind it, and you can’t stop it, and it jumps and jumps and jumps. We saw the fire jump, you know, probably close to a kilometre from behind one ridge to behind the next ridge. We saw the smoke come up, and we’re like, it’s gone. You know, at that point we were screwed.
This isn’t, you know, 50-foot walls of flames, like you get with a massive forest fire. This is a running grass fire. It is really surprising that you can jump that far, but it will, and it did. And you just can never get enough resources in one place.
‘The township of Ruffy … there’s nothing left’
Cait Kelly
Darryl Otzen was fighting the fires in Ruffy when he realised he had lost his own house. He said the Ruffy township and surrounding areas were decimated.
You’ve got farms up there that are completely impacted. Most people have lost all feed, all hay that’s just been bought. Everything’s gone. A lot of properties and houses are gone.
The township of Ruffy … there’s nothing left now. The CFA shed is still there, but that’s just a big tin shed. I think that the hall was still standing too, even though the property next to it burned down.
Lots of properties are very heavily impacted, and it’s still burning up here.
He was with his crew, trying to make their way back to Ruffy township, when they stopped at some of his neighbours to help them. That was when he realised his place was gone.
You couldn’t see the house from the smoke. All the trees down the road were fully alight, and it was like, well, we can’t even get in there. Just keep going.
And my neighbour did go up a little bit later and had a look and said that was, unfortunately, nothing there.
It’s a bit of shit when you’ve been out for two and a half days, and you come back on the truck and drive past what used to be your house. It’s not so great.
‘Countless homes’ lost in fires in Victorian town of Ruffy
George Noye, the captain of the Country Fire Authority in Ruffy, Victoria, spoke to ABC News this morning after the town was hit by the Longwood bushfire.
Noye said the fire had been “absolutely devastating”, saying the area had lost “countless homes”. He said:
The town’s been impacted severely. The main street looks like a bomb’s gone off.
We’ve lost a school. The CFA shed’s still standing.
At the moment, even to get around the roads is … dangerous and hazardous.
He added: “The school no longer operates but it was a community hub for us where a lot of stuff took place. It is absolutely devastating to see it go.”
Noye said the community was in shock, adding there wasn’t much firefighters could do in the coming days amid hot, dry and windy conditions.
We’ve been through fire before, but this is the first time we’ve been fully hit with the fire front. The community is incredibly resilient and we will get through this.
We did our best. Thankfully we’re all alive.
Ley welcomes royal commission, but says it needs to probe Albanese’s efforts on antisemitism
Opposition leader Sussan Ley also spoke to RN this morning, saying the Coalition welcomed the royal commission, noting it had been calling for one for weeks after the Bondi attack.
Ley said:
This was always above politics, always about the national interest in the face of a national crisis. And it is just so important that the work of this royal commission unravel and reveal actions and inactions from Anthony Albanese’s government, particularly over the last two years.
She went on to say the royal commission needed to “confront antisemitism”, questioning the government’s work to do so:
We would question whether he (Albanese) and his ministers really understand the challenge that this country is facing with antisemitism. And I mean, if the prime minister had been as determined to eradicate antisemitism in Australia over the past three years … our country may not have found itself in the position we do today.
