Overview
- Out-of-control bushfires at Mt Lawson/Walwa and Longwood have triggered leave-now orders for towns including Avenel, Longwood, Ruffy, Tarcombe, Caveat and Terip Terip, with watch-and-act alerts for Bungil, Thologolong and Granya.
- A 74-kilometre stretch of the Hume Highway is closed between Seymour and Violet Town, and earlier Sunraysia Highway closures were used to facilitate evacuations from small communities.
- Authorities have declared total fire bans and forecast a catastrophic fire danger rating Friday for Wimmera, Northern Country and North Central, with the rest of Victoria at extreme risk and advice to leave high-risk areas early.
- Fire crews have mounted a major response, with about 305 firefighters and a dozen aircraft working the Walwa fire and overnight backburning to slow spread ahead of worsening conditions.
- A multi-state heatwave is driving temperatures of 40–47°C across southern Australia, with Melbourne hitting 41°C and Adelaide 43°C with power outages, and forecasters warning of dry lightning, damaging gusts and only a weekend cool change.