Extreme heat and ‘classic fire weather’ across Victoria tomorrow – as it happened

What we learned today, Sunday 15 December

BoM provides update on severe heatwave across Australia

Dean Narramore, senior meteorologist at the Bureau of Meteorology, has provided an update on the severe heatwave and extreme fire dangers across much of Australia.

The BoM defines as heatwave as three consecutive days in which both the maximum and minimum temperatures are well above average for the time of year, which Narramore said was occurring across large parts of the country:

[There are] severe to extreme heatwaves across much of northern Australia, and then low to severe heatwave conditions through much of south-eastern Australia as well, including some of our more populated capital cities.

While the south-east will get some relief in the coming days, heat will continue for much of this week across northern Australia.

Today we’re expecting, in large parts of central and eastern inland Australia well above 40C, even getting up into the mid 40s in some locations. In Adelaide, looking at temperatures of 40 degrees today …

That’s going to move into another very hot day on Monday, with temperatures in the mid to high 40s through large parts of NT, Queensland, inland NSW, and even getting into northern parts of Victoria as well, with 46C at Mildura, 41C at Melbourne, some of the suburbs could get hotter than that.

Campers told to fully extinguish their fires

Chris Hardman finishes on the total fire bans across the state:

Those total fire bans mean no fires in the open. If anybody is camping on public land – more than 20% of our bushfires are caused by unattended campfires.

Before midnight tonight, put your fires out. Put it out with water. Do not throw earth over it. Put it out so it’s cool to touch. If it’s not cool to touch, it’s definitely not cool to leave …

The best way we can avoid fires is stop them starting in the first place.

‘Dry woollen blankets can save your life’

Chris Hardman continues with advice for those caught in a fire:

If you’re living in an area and you’re told it’s too late to leave and shelter in place, it’s important to know what to do under those circumstances.

We use language like “shelter in place”. But what does that actually mean? What it means is that you’ve got to be very proactive before the firefront gets there, putting out embers, putting out spot fires, moving around your property

When the fire front gets close, get inside. Radiant heat can kill you … Dry woollen blankets can save your life. Keep moving around the house. Don’t go into the centre of the house where you could get trapped if your house starts burning around. Know what’s going on outside of you, and as soon as that fire front passes, please make sure you get out of the house immediately.

‘If your plan is to leave, leave early’

Chris Hardman, chief fire office of Forest Fire Management Victoria, said teams were on standby in critical areas across the state, with 54 aircraft contracted for firefighting:

In the west of the state, where there is harvesting activities occurring that generates increased fire risk, we have moved aviation assets aircraft into those areas to mitigate those risks as quickly as possible.

He continues with safety advice for people who those who will be near forested areas including the Grampians, Wombat state forest, the Great Otway national park and Lower Glenelg national park:

These are areas in the highest fire risk part of Victoria tomorrow. We know when there is a forest fire or a bushfire, that it can throw embers ahead of the fire, and quite often houses are not necessarily burning down because of direct flame impacts, but because of embers flying through the air.

It’s really important that you prepare your properties: clean your gutters, clean up around the properties. Is still not too late …

If you’re living in those areas, if your plan is to leave, leave early. It is really important that you’re not leaving during the heat of the day.

Victorians warned to stay hydrated in extreme heat

On the extreme heat forecast in Victoria tomorrow, Jason Heffernan says:

We need to make sure that people stay hydrated. Tomorrow is a day for looking after your mate, looking after your neighbour, looking after your friend. It will be hot, it will be unpleasant. We need to make sure that we get through, keep hydrated, find a cool place to keep yourself cool, whether that be in a public place or otherwise inside with the air conditioner.

‘Adhere to the total fire ban’

Jason Heffernan urges the public to be proactive in preparing for the conditions:

Know what you are going to do tomorrow in an extreme fire day – you will need to take action to protect your life and your property, such will be the conditions that we will have.

If fires do start in the landscape, they will be hard to suppress. They will spread very quickly, and fire resources will be focused on fire suppression, and so we’re going to need community to do their bit as well in giving us a hand to making sure that you are ready for tomorrow’s conditions …

We go into the day with no fires in the landscape that any of the major fires that we are looking at. So I would like to keep it that way.

Please, people: adhere to the total fire ban. We want to make sure that we give our firefighters and our communities the best chance on what will be an extremely challenging fire day tomorrow for Victoria.

‘An extreme fire day across Victoria’

Jason Heffernan, chief officer of the Country Fire Authority, is up next, discussing concerning temperatures and fire conditions:

It will be quite an extreme fire day across Victoria, sufficiently so that the majority of the state tomorrow will find themselves in a total fire ban … the Mallee, the Wimmera, the northern country, north central, south west, central, west and South Gippsland …

Extreme conditions are likely and potentially due to come back into the state on Tuesday, and we will talk more about total five bans on Tuesday, which are likely to be for the more north-western parts of the state.

Heffernan said fire conditions would be “quite horrendous”, particularly across parts of the state’s west and south-west:

We are concerned about all parts of the state, and certainly today … is the day to make sure that you have your bushfire survival plan.

Cool change expected Monday evening for Melbourne

Efron said a cool change was expected to push into the south-west of Victoria early on Monday afternoon:

[It will] then move east into the evening, so reaching the Melbourne area around 8 to 9pm – looking at quite a dramatic drop in temperature, about 15C in an hour.

That cool change won’t make its way into the east of the state throughout Monday. Residents there will have to wait until early Tuesday for some relief.

Monday to be ‘classic fire weather day’ in Victoria

Victoria’s Country Fire Authority has declared a total fire ban tomorrow for several Victorian districts, including Melbourne and Geelong:

Australian swimmers win bronze at world short course championships

Alex Perkins and Matt Temple nabbed bronze medals on a day dominated by US sensation Gretchen Walsh at the world short course swimming championships in Budapest, AAP reports.

Perkins took bronze in the women’s 100m butterfly final, while Temple also finished third in the equivalent men’s event.

Walsh, a 21-year-old American, has broken eight world individual records over the week, lifting her fifth gold medal of the week in the 100m fly.

While Walsh won in 52.71 seconds, Queenslander Perkins forged on way behind in what felt almost like another race even though her 55.10 was in itself an Oceania record, to finish third behind Dutchwoman Tessa Giele (54.66).

The 24-year-old Perkins said it was a privilege to have been racing against Walsh:

I been really proud of how I have gone about things … and to compete against the likes of Gretchen Walsh …

I don’t think anyone’s going to come close to her for a while to come.

The 25-year-old Victorian Temple also played his part in a record-breaking affair as he came home third in 48.71s behind Frenchman Maxime Grousset (48.57) and Swiss Noe Ponti, who broke Caeleb Dressel’s 100m fly record in 47.71.

Body of swimmer found in Sydney

Minns condemns ‘disgusting’ Islamophobic graffiti