00:00Tomorrow we will see, you know, 44 degrees, northerly winds 30 to 40 kilometres an hour,
00:08but there's no strong gusty winds that we are expecting, which is very much likely to
00:14let that fire continue to run, sufficiently so that we've just enacted a number of watch
00:21and acts for community around that fire to prepare to evacuate.
00:25It's very important that communities around that fire go to the Vic Emergency app
00:31and understand the warning area that they are in and the instructions that are provided to them.
00:37We are, for communities particularly from Barungaruk in the north, down to about Beach Forest,
00:43into the south, from Jellybrand into the west, across the forest, into the east,
00:49you are now under a watch and act, prepare to evacuate warning.
00:53As the fire starts to ramp up under the conditions that we are expecting throughout today
00:59and especially for tomorrow when those hot northerly winds start, we are anticipating that fire will move.
01:05Those warnings will change to an evacuation warning and then ultimately to an emergency warning.
01:12So we are asking community to take action.
01:14You will need to take action today.
01:17Relief centres have been established at the Colac Showground but also at the Grovedale Community Hub.
01:23for community members that are choosing to leave today and this afternoon.
01:28But certainly those communities under that watch and act, our advice to you is to leave, leave early,
01:34prepare to evacuate and get out of those regions because we are expecting that Carlisle River fire
01:41to spread very rapidly tomorrow under the weather conditions that are predicted.
01:47Yeah, these heatwave conditions over the next week or so are going to be pretty intense.
01:52The worst, I think, since 2009, I understand.
01:56What's that going to mean for firefighting conditions, not only for this blaze,
02:01but also others that are still burning across the state?
02:04There's a heat emergency going on as well, in addition to a fire emergency across the state of Victoria,
02:12particularly our residents in the northern part of the state,
02:14which will be subject to up to eight days of temperatures exceeding 40 degrees.
02:20And as we know, when long-range heatwaves like this,
02:23and we haven't seen something like this since 2009,
02:25the elderly, the infirm, the frail, the very young and the sick are most susceptible to heat
02:33and we deteriorate very quickly under these conditions.
02:37And then we start seeing a greater degree of number of medical emergencies across the state.
02:42So it will be a challenge for firefighters in terms of fighting fire in those conditions,
02:47but more so it'll be a challenge for communities to keep cool,
02:50looking after yourself, your family, your neighbour, your friends,
02:53particularly in the northern part of the state,
02:56because it's going to get very hot and remain hot.
02:58There's temperatures up around 48, 49 at Walpia and Mildura,
03:03to give your listeners and viewers a bit of an idea of the temperatures that we are looking at.
03:08It's going to be very concerning.
03:10Subsequently, there will be a statewide totem fire ban in effect for the state of Victoria
03:16from midnight tonight, such as the conditions predicating this state
03:20for both heat and the bushfire situation.
03:22It's already been a really busy fire season for your crews over the last few weeks
03:29and now going into this next week or so.
03:31Have you got any additional resources on hand or on their way?
03:36We've got firefighters and fire managers from every state and territory of Australia
03:41here in Victoria at the moment, in addition to our colleagues from New Zealand and Canada
03:46who have also come to join the firefight.
03:49And they're spread right across the fire grounds in Victoria today.
03:53And we're going to keep them for quite a number of weeks yet.
03:57We've been resting our crews.
03:58We've been rotating our crews.
04:00We've been strategically moving resources right across the state,
04:05whether they be the Country Fire Authority volunteers, our Forest Fire Management,
04:09Victoria Forest Workers, and also our career firefighters from Fire Rescue Victoria
04:14have all been digging very deep in preparing for what will be a very challenging day tomorrow.
04:20And in particularly the north, it's not just about one day,
04:22in the north of the state, those temperatures will sustain for up to eight days.
04:27So if any fire does continue to get hold in the landscape and keeping a very close eye
04:32on that Walwa fire, yeah, it certainly will be a challenge for the next couple of days.
04:37All right, Jason Heffernan from the Country Fire Authority in Melbourne there for us.
04:41Thank you very much for the update and all the best to you and your crews this week.
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