SYDNEY: An out-of-control bushfire in Australia’s Victoria state prompted an evacuation alert for residents near a remote mining settlement, authorities said on Saturday (Feb 21).
The alert, at the highest emergency rating, was for the area surrounding the A1 Mine Settlement in the Gaffney’s Creek region, about 50km north-east of state capital Melbourne.
“Leaving immediately is the safest option, before conditions become too dangerous,” Victoria Emergency said on its website, adding that the fire was not yet controlled.
Mountainous terrain was making it difficult for firefighters to battle the blaze from the ground, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported.
Since the 1860s gold has been mined in the sparsely-populated area, which is also popular with campers and tourists.
Three other bushfires were burning on Feb 21 at watch and act level, the second highest danger rating, Victoria Emergency said.
In January, thousands of firefighters battled bushfires in Australia’s south-east that razed homes, cut power to thousands of homes and burned swathes of bushland.
They were the worst fires to hit the south-east since the Black Summer blazes of 2019 to 2020 that destroyed an area the size of Turkey and killed 33 people. - Reuters
