A bushfire in Victoria’s Gippsland region has left a home destroyed and campers evacuated with the region preparing for even more extreme weather with heavy rainfall set to hit later this week.
The bushfire in Briagolong, Victoria has burnt around 5,000 hectares alongside a home that was tragically lost in the fire the CFA told the ABC.
The bushfire has left communities such as Cobbannah, Culloden, Moornapa and Glenaladale on high alert, with anyone in those areas told to be prepared to evacuate.
Hundreds of campers in the region were told to end their long weekend early as firefighters tackled the blaze.
The fire remains at a watch and act level, with firefighters expecting it to stay this way for the coming days.
Since Saturday, there have been 220 bush and grassfires across the state.
The fire danger periods across Australia have started early this year, with East Gippsland not expecting to be in it’s fire danger period until October 9.
CFA chief officer Jason Heffernan, told the ABC that these fires should serve as warning for the rest of the state as summer quickly approaches.
“Our message for all Victorians is what we saw in Gippsland yesterday is probably a taste of what is to come during summer,” Heffernan told the publication.
He also encouraged all Victorians to ensure they had a bushfire survival plan for the duration of the summer.
The fires come after some of Victoria’s hottest and driest September weather ever as reported by The Sydney Morning Herald.
Cooler temperatures are due on Tuesday, before heavy rainfall is expected to take the place of the extreme heat.
The colder weather expected for the end of the week may be a reprieve for the hot and fiery conditions over the weekend, but with heavy rain set to batter the state there is now the risk of flash floods in eastern Victoria.
“The rain that’s predicted … will certainly … suppress … the fires burning in the landscape currently and is likely to hit the pause button for East Gippsland community for a few weeks,” Heffernan told the ABC.
“Ironically not 24 hours later, we’re going to be seeing a significant rain and flood event affecting those same communities.”
There’s 5 to 20mm of rain expected on Tuesday, with up to 50mm in the eastern ranges and a possibility of up to 80mm of rain in the peaks.
On Wednesday, there’s another 30 to 60mm of rain expected across the eastern region, with between 40-80mm set to fall on the ranges and between 70-100mm in the peaks.
Fires, floods, who TF knows what’s next in store. If this is any indication of what we can expect this summer thanks to our mate El Nino, you can consider me stressed.
Image source: 9News
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