Emergency services are bracing for this season’s “most challenging” fire risk over the next 24 hours as a heatwave moves across Victoria and sends temperatures soaring past 40 degrees.
The hot spell continues through Monday when Melbourne is set to reach a high of 40 degrees, before a cool change bringing rain is expected in the city about 5pm, elevating the fire risk.“The next 24 hours will see the most significant fire risk posed to this state so far this season,” said Jason Heffernan, Country Fire Authority Chief Officer, on Sunday.
Forest Fire Management chief fire officer Chris Hardman pleaded with people to extinguish their campfires, saying 10 per cent of bushfires occurred as a result of people leaving campfires unattended.“Don’t think just because it’s a small fire by your campsite that it’s OK,” he said. “It’s not OK. You’re putting others at risk. Behave appropriately and remember, put it out with water. If it’s not cool to touch, it’s definitely not cool to leave.
“It’s presented some challenges – we haven’t been able to get out and do the face-to-face briefings that we normally would have done,” he said.“However, we’ve done that online. We’ve done that in such an effective way that it’s been a lot more flexible for volunteers to actually participate.” One man died after he was pulled from the water at Thirteenth Beach in Barwon Heads, and another died after being in water off Anglesea on the Great Ocean Road.
“What that means is these families will be impacted forever and a day. It means on those significant family events, birthdays and weddings, there’ll be an empty seat at the table. We’ve got a lot of summer to go. Do you want there to be an empty seat at your table?”Ambulance Victoria recorded a spike in calls on Sunday morning for heat-related illnesses and had attended to 24 calls since Thursday about people left in cars.
So......
So....
It’s called summer
It is summer - this happens most years so why dramatise it ?
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