By William Howard, Jean Bell, Angus Mackintosh, and Gaye Pattison, ABC
Fire crews responding to a blaze at Mt Cole west of Beaufort in Victoria, Australia. Photo: Supplied/ Ballarat Fire Brigade CFA
Authorities are warning of potentially catastrophic fire danger across parts of Victoria mid-week as the west of the state reels from a bushfire that has been burning for five days.
The Bayindeen fire has burnt more than 19,500 hectares, destroying three homes north of Beaufort and another six near Raglan.
The blaze has also claimed sheds, livestock and farming equipment.
About 600 firefighters are working to suppress the fire, which has been burning since Thursday last week.
On Sunday afternoon, about 200 people gathered in Beaufort for a community meeting about the fires.
Among them was Sandy Little, a wool farmer from Raglan who has been in the Country Fire Authority (CFA) for most of his life.
He said the fire was like nothing he had seen before.
"It's one of the worst, fastest-moving fires I've seen," he said.
Little lost his wool shed and 70 sheep in the fire, but was grateful to still have his house standing.
Other farmers have lost their homes and livestock too.
"There have been miraculous saves, but lots of heartbreak too," Little said.
Ballarat CFA incident controller Jon Rofe told community members gathered to be prepared for the coming week.
Ahead of Wednesday, Rofe said the strategy was to actively suppress the blaze, using an earth trail around the fire to create a break in the fuel and slow it down.
He said locals would see an increase in fire activity and smoke as crews actively burned areas untouched by fire to remove fuel.
There will also be increased aircraft activity as crews try to suppress the fire between the earth trail and where it was burning.
Twenty-four aircraft were working on the fire on Sunday, including water-bombing helicopters and observation craft.
Rofe said if the fire broke out on the eastern side, it could spread over the Western Highway past Beaufort and head north-east towards Lexton and beyond.
Victoria Police District Commander Jason Templar said the Western Highway could be shut if the fire posed a safety risk and alternative routes would be available.
Health representatives told people with compromised health to wear masks to minimise smoke exposure during the next few days.
Central Highlands Water reported no impact on drinking water quality to date, but people with private drinking water supply were urged to seek alternative sources.
There have been reports of asbestos in some of the burn sites and anyone in these areas must wear an N95 mask.
Department of Agriculture will have eight teams on the ground for welfare checks and urgent cases.
Fire danger could be catastrophic
The Mallee, Wimmera, and South West Victoria regions all have an extreme fire danger rating for Wednesday.
Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Angus Hines did not rule out the fire risk reaching catastrophic levels for parts of Victoria.
"If we do see those hot, dry, and windy conditions sharpen up even further, we could see very high and extreme fire dangers, or possibly a repeat of catastrophic fire danger for parts of the state," he said.
Haines said moderate fire danger was forecast across most of the state on Monday and Tuesday along with cool, settled conditions, but this would change mid-week.
On Wednesday, hot and dry winds are forecast to gust from inland through the west of the state including the Mallee, Wimmera, and South West Victoria regions.
Temperatures are also set to soar with a high of 44 degrees Celsius forecast for Mildura, 37C for Horsham, and 36C for Beaufort.
Haines said temperatures were likely to remain high for the rest of the week, with no rain forecast for the coming days.
"The wind may die away, but we're still anticipating a number of regions will stay in high fire danger towards the end of the week," he said.
The forecast will be reassessed in the coming days.
CFA chief executive Jason Heffernan said the CFA, Forest Fire Management Victoria and Fire Rescue Victoria were working together to prepare for Wednesday.
Heffernan said the CFA had requested support from New South Wales crews to help bolster firefighter numbers and prevent fatigue.
He said residents as far away as Bendigo might smell or see smoke drift from the fire area as crews did strategic burnt offs.
People should check the VicEmergency app or website if they are concerned.
"It's likely to be smoke drift from this fire, but if in doubt, or you see a fire without firefighters in attendance, call triple-0," Heffernan said.
Volunteers drop everything to help out
Volunteers from Tyers Fire Brigade, in Victoria's east, had an early start on Friday morning as they travelled about 375km to help fellow CFA crews battle an out-of-control bushfire in the state's west.
Tyers CFA captain Ross Wisewood said he had immense pride for his volunteers who dropped everything they were doing to lend a hand.
"It's just about helping your mate, helping your community," Wisewood said.
"We don't do it for the medals or the honour; we do it to help our family."
It was not uncommon for CFA volunteers to travel long distances to assist other brigades when bushfires got out of control.
In recent years, Wisewood said the CFA had become much better at ensuring available resources were sent to the right place at the right time.
"We might be volunteers, but we pride ourselves on delivering a professional service to the community," he said.
With more hot weather on the way this week, there are concerns bushfires could pop up in other parts of the state.
However, Wisewood said the CFA would be ready.
"A lot goes on in the background when we have those spike days," he said.
"That's when state and [incident control centres] … start to hone down into smaller areas, smaller districts."
- This story was first published by the ABC.
