Large swathes of the state are on high alert for fires (representative)
Sydney, Australia:
More than 2,000 people in towns in Australia’s western Victoria state have been ordered to evacuate as bushfires spiral out of control on Thursday.
State emergency services urged residents of the towns of Raglan and Beaufort, which have about two thousand people, and those in surrounding areas to leave if it is safe to do so and head east to the nearby regional center of Ballarae, 95 kilometers (59 miles) away. West of Melbourne.
About 50 square kilometers (12,355 acres) are burning northwest of Ballarat. A similar area further west is burning out of control.
Rural Fire Service chief Jason Hefferman told ABC News: “We expect the fire to grow rapidly over the next hour or two and residents in the area need to put their bushfire survival plans in place immediately. Put it into practice.”
Large swaths of the state are on high fire alert, with the Bureau of Meteorology issuing extreme fire danger warnings for several areas on Thursday due to hot, dry winds and the possibility of thunderstorms.
At 3pm (0400 GMT), temperatures in the state’s northwest exceeded 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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