‘Take shelter now’: Bushfire threatens central Victorian towns as firefighters brace for wind change

An out-of-control bushfire is threatening lives in three central Victorian towns, as firefighters brace for a wind change in coming hours.

The fire started in inaccessible terrain around Tallarook State Forest, on a day on which emergency services warned Victorians to stay alert to extreme fire danger.

Residents of Kerrisdale, Tallarook and Trawool – about 15 kilometres south of Seymour – are being urged to take shelter immediately from the blaze.

“You are in danger and need to act immediately to survive,” the warning read. “The safest option is to take shelter indoors immediately. It is too late to leave.”

Further south, a watch and act warning is in place for people who live near King Parrot Creek Road from Tehans Road to Strath Creek Road. Residents are being urged to leave now.

Residents of Granite, Dairy Creek and Homewood are being advised to stay informed and plan for what they will do if the situation changes.

State Control Centre spokesperson David Nugent said the fire was burning in a south-westerly direction towards Flynns Road.

The CFA says a wind change is predicted between 6pm and 8pm, which will change the fire’s direction and send it north-east.

“The change will … create additional challenges for us,” said Nugent.

Nugent said it was important for people to monitor the fire’s movement if they were in that area, and to regularly check the VicEmergency app.

As of 5pm, the fire had burnt 116 hectares and had more than 96 firefighters tackling it, as well as five choppers and one fixed-wing aircraft. There are no reports of property losses at this stage.

VicEmergency sent emergency warnings to 1000 phones earlier on Tuesday.

The fire is burning around 15 kilometres from the western edge of the Longwood fire, which was one of the worst blazes in the state during what was a devastating January for Victoria.

A 78-year-old man died and hundreds of homes were lost when the Longwood fire burned through more than 100,000 hectares of land, with firefighters only able to contain it last Friday, five weeks later.

Police are still investigating that fire’s cause.

Parts of Melbourne and Victoria reached tops around 35 degrees on Tuesday afternoon, lower than the forecast top of 37 for Melbourne.

A total fire ban remains in effect for the rest of the day for the Central, North Central, South-west, West and South Gippsland and Wimmera fire districts, meaning no fire can be lit in the open air or allowed to remain alight on February 17.

Extreme fire danger is forecast in each of these areas, and also in Victoria’s north-east.

The Bureau of Meteorology’s Morgan Pumpa said a cool change would not reach Melbourne until the late afternoon or evening, as a south-westerly wind change pushes an ocean breeze across Victoria.

“That’s in the east that we’ll see a little bit of cooler air … for the most part, everyone should just expect winds to be hot, and they’re going to be dry,” Pumpa said.

Thunderstorms were possible in a large swath of Victoria, stretching from Echuca-Moama to Mount Baw Baw to Traralgon, Pumpa said.

Parts of the state have not had meaningful rain for weeks, leaving abundant dry fuel despite major blazes already this season.

The dangerous weather predicted follows a January during which fires burnt more than 400,000 hectares of Victoria.

One person was killed and nearly 1600 structures were damaged or destroyed after fires began in the first week of the year, and were then aggravated by extreme heat peaking on January 9.

A major bushfire in the Otways flared up later in the same month, prompting evacuations and causing property losses.

On Monday, Wiebusch said the Otways fire would hopefully be contained next week.

With AAP

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