Fire crews rush to build containment lines ahead of cold change expected to bring gusty winds and dry lightning

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Firefighters in Victoria are rushing to build containment lines around fires burning east of Melbourne before “gusty and erratic” winds reach the area on Wednesday.

At least nine buildings, including homes, were destroyed in two out of control bushfires at Bunyip and Yinnar South in West Gippsland on Sunday, and an emergency warning was issued for a third near Dargo in the high country in east Gippsland.

There were 19 fires burning out of control in eastern Victoria on Monday, scattered through the east Gippsland and highland areas, and 23 schools have been closed due to fire risk.

Authorities have warned that more fires could start during thunderstorms forecast over the next three days.

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The Dargo fire started on Monday about 7km northwest of Dargo and travelled south, coming within 3km of the small town before heading past it and cutting off Dargo Road, which is the only route out of the high country. Residents were told to seek shelter because it was too late to leave.

Evacuation centres have been set up in Pakenham and Koo Wee Rup for residents affected by the fire which started in Bunyip state park on Friday and has burned through more than 12,000 hectares, towards the townships of Bunyip, Longwarry and Nar Nar Goon.

Warnings were downgraded to a watch and act following a slight cool change early Monday morning.

A spokesman from the state control centre said fire crews were concentrating on building containment lines along the eastern edge of the fire ahead of a forecast cold change on Wednesday, which is expected to bring gusty south-westerly winds and some dry lightning.

“At the moment it is still burning out of control and that has really still got very minimal containment lines around it,” he said.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Jumbuck resident Gary Williams inspects his property on O’Reillys Hill Road after fighting flames through the night to save his house. Photograph: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

Another evacuation centre had been established at Kernot Hall in Morwell for the Yinnar South-Budgeree East fire, which was also still burning out of control.

Other warnings were in place for a 17,000ha out of control fire at Licola, impacting communities around Mount Useful and the Avon River.

More than 2,000 firefighters, supported by earthmoving equipment and aerial water bombers, were battling the fires on Monday.

Authorities said the Bunyip State Forest fire remained the priority because it was threatening the most number of homes. With more dry lightning expected as part of a forecast cool change over the next couple of days, the state control centre said it would have to juggle resources to prevent widespread property loss.

“We are really going to have to be careful with our resource prioritisation in terms of where we can put crews,” a spokesman said.

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Firefighters on Monday were taking advantage of cooler temperatures and reduced wind in western Gippsland to build control lines around the Bunyip and Yinnar South fires, and to assess and remove hazardous trees to make the area safe for firefighters and property assessors, who were expected to survey the damage later in the day.

Hot temperatures and high winds in the highland areas around Dargo were hampering firefighting efforts.

The senior forecaster Michael Efron from the Bureau of Meteorology said those conditions were forecast to continue until Wednesday when a cool change would reach the eastern half of the state.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Helicopters drop water on a bushfire near Yinnar in Gippsland, Victoria. Photograph: David Crosling/AAP

Efron said the change would bring “gusty and erratic” south-westerly winds and thunderstorm activities, meaning “we could see further fires started in the alpine areas”.

He said 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.

“Really these fires will be burning for some time until we get significant rainfall,” he said.

A spokesman from the state control centre said light rain would hamper firefighting efforts by making it harder to use the already poor network of forestry tracks and 4WD access roads.