What we’ve covered today By Cassandra Morgan Thank you for following our live coverage of Victoria’s catastrophic bushfire situation.
The situation remains dynamic and evolving, but if you’re just joining us, here’s a look back at what we’ve covered today:
Huge swathes of Victoria’s west, north and north-east are subject to emergency warnings, the likes of which emergency services leaders say haven’t been seen in years. The warnings are still coming thick and fast via VicEmergency, and directing residents to evacuate or take shelter immediately – including in areas ravaged by the 2019-20 Black Summer and 2009 Black Saturday fires. Fire crews are expected to start taking stock of the damage across the state at first light on Saturday, after a wind change creates more chaos on fire grounds overnight. However, dozens of homes have already been lost. Harcourt – a small town north-east of Castlemaine – is among those that have been devastated. A man, woman and child are still unaccounted for after the property they were defending was destroyed in the behemoth Longwood fire in Victoria’s north. The Longwood fire has grown to almost 150,000 hectares, while the state’s second-largest blaze, at Walwa, had burned through more than 100,000 hectares as of Friday evening. More than 700 firefighters, along with interstate crews, are battling blazes across the state. No casualties have been confirmed thus far, but a firefighter was hospitalised on Friday after sustaining serious injuries while battling the Longwood fire at Ruffy. Premier Jacinta Allan warned overnight conditions were going to be the “most difficult and dangerous”. She later said her own community was evacuated because of the fires. An air quality alert was issued for all of Victoria, and people reported ash falling from the sky as far as Melbourne’s CBD and the Mornington Peninsula. A total fire ban has been declared for the entire state on Saturday, after temperatures reached the mid-40s on Friday, and wind gusts climbed above 100km/h. The tot
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