2,000 Australian firefighters race to contain bush fires in Victoria state as ‘gusty and erratic’ winds loom
- Twenty-three schools have been closed due to fire risk as 19 scattered fires burned out of control in eastern Victoria on Monday
- Authorities have warned that more fires could start during thunderstorms forecast over the next three days
More than 2,000 Australian firefighters in the state of Victoria are racing to build containment lines around bush fires raging in the east of Melbourne before “gusty and erratic” winds reach the area on Wednesday.
Twenty-three schools have been closed due to fire risk as 19 scattered fires burned out of control in eastern Victoria on Monday.
Authorities have warned that more fires could start during thunderstorms forecast over the next three days.
The Bureau of Meteorology said a cool change expected on Wednesday would bring “gusty and erratic” southwesterly winds and thunderstorm activities, meaning “we could see further fires started in the alpine areas”.
The change could bring some rain, and even snow to higher altitude areas, but were unlikely to bring the significant downpour required to douse the fires, said senior forecaster Michael Efron.
“Really these fires will be burning for some time until we get significant rainfall,” he said.