Victorian fire crews respond to bushfires a day after El Niño declaration
/A number of grass and scrub fires have broken out across eastern Victoria as authorities warn people to prepare for a dangerous summer.
Key points:
- Residents in at-risk areas are being urged to do what they can to prepare for the months to come
- Authorities were expecting an early start to the fire season and El Niño is likely to create hazardous conditions
- Warnings are in place for parts of NSW and the NT has seen significant fires in the last few weeks
Forest Fire Management Victoria (FFMVic) said crews were attending five active bushfires in East Gippsland today.
The fires impacted areas surrounding Newmerella and Genoa and forced the closure of a stretch of the Princes Highway.
Those travelling through Gippsland were unable to use the highway between Newmerella and Nowa Nowa on Tuesday night.
The Country Fire Authority said 10 units were dispatched to the Newmerella fire, which spread downhill into a wooded area.
About 250 hectares of public land south of the Princes Highway were impacted.
The CFA also attended a grassfire on Springs Road in Newry on this morning.
Fifteen units attended the blaze, which spread into nearby paddocks and grew to about 1.2ha in size.
In Genoa, near the border with New South Wales, FFMVic crews said a 2ha fire had been brought under control.
A taste of what's to come?
CFA South East Victoria Deputy Chief Officer Trevor Owen said the declaration of El Niño indicated a hot and dry summer ahead.
"We are expecting an earlier start to the fire season," he said.
The CFA is urging people living near bushland to develop a fire management plan before it is too late.
"It's about being prepared," he said.
"Over any bushfire season, it only takes a week or two of dry weather – fire weather – to create a very bad situation.
"We have a great amount of tools at our disposal — but the reality is, Mother Nature will talk."
It is the first time in seven years Australia has experienced El Niño.
There have already been a number of fires across the country, including in New South Wales and the Northern Territory.