Australia Weather News

Multiple properties are feared lost to an out-of-control bushfire in central Victoria, as Australia's first heatwave of the year continues to bring high temperatures across the country.

Firefighters are working to contain two bushfires in Victoria, with dozens of towns ordered to evacuate ahead of predicted "catastrophic" conditions on Friday.

An out-of-control bushfire in central Victoria, near Longwood, has burned through 28,000 hectares, with towns south and east of the fire told to leave.

The ABC has been told that a residential property in Ruffy, east of Seymour, and within the large Longwood fire, has been destroyed by fire.

Homeowner Rebekah Johnston-Smith says her property on Nolans Road, the main road in the small township, has burnt down.

She said she was evacuated with her family last night, but close relatives who lived nearby told her the house had burned down.

"It's a really huge area that's been impacted," she said.

"Ruffy is a really picturesque spot [and] it's wild, it's gone."

Ruffy is located in the Strathbogie Ranges and has a population of about 164 according to the 2021 census.

There are reports of other property losses, but State Agency Commander David Nugent said he was not in a position to confirm any.

"When I look at the movement of the fires without knowing the detail, and I'm not in a position to tell you exactly what's happened on the ground there … but the details we can see here is the fire has moved in that area through that Ruffy community," he said. 

Bushfire generates a weather system

Emergency warnings are also in place for a bushfire burning in north-east Victoria near Walwa.

The fire had burned through 4,500 hectares of land as of Thursday afternoon, and was so fierce it generated its own weather system, including a substantial pyrocumulonimbus cloud with lightning and thunder.

Pyrocumulonimbus clouds are fire-fuelled thunderstorms, which form partly due to the heat from a bushfire, causing the air above the blaze to rise.

Dozens of towns to the south and east of the fire have been ordered to evacuate, while smoke from the blaze has moved north across the state's border towards Canberra.

These warnings have been issued ahead of "catastrophic" fire conditions in some parts of Victoria tomorrow, the first time such a warning has been issued since the Black Summer fires of 2019-20.

These regions are the Wimmera, Northern Country, North Central and South West, while the rest of Victoria has an "extreme" fire risk rating.

There is also a total fire ban in place for the entire state.

Forest Fire Management Deputy Incident Controller Dave Jensen said the conditions were concerning.

He said forecast thunderstorms on Friday were expected to bring little rain, increasing the potential for dry lightning, which could result in further ignitions.

Forest Fire Management chief fire officer Chris Hardman said it was not safe to be in bushland at all tomorrow.

"The forests and the grasslands are already dry. Those lightning bands will hit the ground, and fires will kick off really quickly," he said.

He said any fires that could not be put out immediately would be uncontrollable.

Mr Hardman urged holiday-makers to stay away.

"If you are camping on the Goulburn River, the Campaspe River, the Murray River, along Lake Eildon and surrounds, the Grampians, the Great Ocean Road, all of these incredibly popular areas," he said.

"It is just too dangerous. It is not survivable, radiant heat kills … you will be killed before the fire gets to you in these conditions."

For more information on the latest fire warnings for Victoria, visit the VicEmergency website.

Heightened bushfire risk in South Australia

Bushfire risk has also been elevated in South Australia, after a severe weather warning for damaging winds was issued for large parts of the state.

Total fire bans will be issued for 11 out of 15 fire districts in South Australia tomorrow, with SA Country Fire Service deputy state controller Paul Seager saying the fire danger risk tomorrow would be higher than it was for today.

"The reason for [extensive fire bans] is we need to avoid any risky activities while this extreme fire weather exists," he said.

"This has been the most significant period of hot weather and extreme fire danger this summer."

Bureau of Meteorology meteorologist Chris Kent said gusty winds and the risk of dry thunderstorms and lightning would combine to cause extreme fire danger across large parts of the state.

"Not only can lightning start new fires, the gusty winds associated with them can also cause erratic fire behaviour making them very hard to control," he said.

Hot weather bakes towns

Temperatures today across south-east Australia climbed up to 18C above average for mid-January, resulting in dozens of locations recording their highest maximums in years.

This included Wudinna in South Australia, which recorded its hottest day in seven years at 48.2 degrees Celsius — only 0.2C off a record for the town.

Other towns that saw their warmest days in seven years included Tarcoola (48.1C), Whyalla (47.8C), Port Augusta (47.6C) and Renmark (47.3C) in South Australia.

Hay (45.9C), Deniliquin (45.4C) and Bega (40.3C) in NSW also recorded seven year highs, as did Hopetoun (46.3C) and Swan Hill (46.C) in Victoria.

Severe heatwave conditions are also moving through north-east WA and towards the north-west of the Northern Territory, with temperatures reaching the high-30s to mid-40s.

While parts of the southern states had a bit of relief today compared to Wednesday, the temperature is set to get hotter tomorrow and to rise further in eastern areas at the weekend.

Major centres including Sydney and Newcastle are forecast to reach 43C and 39C respectively by Saturday.