Campers evacuated as fire in south-west Tasmania brings smoke to Hobart

A fire in Tasmania's south-west wilderness has burned through more than 2,500 hectares and forced the evacuation of bushwalkers in the area, as the state is warned to brace for a scorcher on Friday.

Traveller Teagan Fone-Stephenson snapped this
 photo of the Gell River fire from the helicopter.

Two separate fires, both started by lightning last Friday, joined together and are burning at Gell River, approximately 6 kilometres north-west of Lake Rhona, the Tasmania Fire Service said.

Parks and Wildlife personnel, supported by waterbombing aircraft, are working to contain the fire.

Leah Soo and two friends were camped at Lake Rhona on Friday and saw the fire on their way to a nearby peak.

Read the ABC News story by Ellen Coulter and Lucy MacDonald - “Campers evacuated as fire in south-west Tasmania brings smoke to Hobart.”

Dry, hot summer on the cards with no relief for drought-stricken farmers

Australians should brace for a dry, hot summer, according to the Bureau of Meteorology, with no relief for drought-stricken farmers.

 Queensland is already sweltering through 40C temperatures,
up to 10C above average for October. The Bureau of Meteorology’s
 summer forecast offers no relief for drought-stricken farmers.

The bureau’s climate outlook for November to January, released on Friday, says there is an 80% chance temperatures will be higher than average for most of the mainland.

“You don’t often see odds that high,” said Dr Andrew Watkins, the bureau’s manager of long-range forecasts. “It’s astounding honestly.”

Read the story from The Guardian by Naaman Zhou - “Dry, hot summer on the cards with no relief for drought-stricken farmers.”

Hurricane Florence: more than 1m ordered to evacuate in Virginia and South Carolina

More than a million people living along the coastlines of South Carolina and Virginia have been ordered to evacuate their homes on Tuesday, as parts of America’s mid-Atlantic coast brace for what could be the most powerful storm to ever hit the region.

One million told to flee as Hurricane Florence bears down on US coast. 

Hurricane Florence is expected to bring potentially catastrophic winds, flooding and storm surge. Forecasters predict it will make landfall sometime late Thursday.

Currently rated as a category 4 storm – the second most powerful on the national weather service’s (NWS) classification system – Florence would be the first storm of that magnitude in recorded history to strike the eastern coastline so far north if it remains on its most likely track.

Read the story from The Guardian by James Lartey in New York - “Hurricane Florence: more than 1m ordered to evacuate in Virginia and South Carolina.”

Victoria to swelter for second straight day

Nine children were rescued from hot cars and more than 1000 homes left without power as Victorians sweltered through a dangerously hot day yesterday.

Emergency Management Commissioner Craig Lapsley.

Emergency Management Commissioner Craig Lapsley warned people to brace for even worse conditions today.

‘‘The fire risk is real and the fire risk only gets worse with the fact that there’s no respite across the state tonight,’’ Emergency Services Commissioner Craig Lapsley said yesterday.

Mr Lapsley said central and western Victoria were most at risk of bushfire, with blazes already burning near the SA border and Geelong.

Despite extreme heat warnings, chief health officer Charles Guest said there had been reports yesterday of nine children being left in parked cars.

‘‘We know that leaving children in parked cars can lead to death. I’m glad to say this hasn’t happened this summer so far,’’ he said.

More than 1000 properties in Beaufort, near Ballarat, were left sweltering without fans and air conditioners because of a power failure before operator Powercor restored electricity.

Dr Guest said people without access to air conditioning or at risk of heat exhaustion were advised to head to shopping centres or cinemas to cool down.

The Bureau of Meteorology is predicting temperatures to reach 42°C today with other parts of the state to see ranges in the low to mid-40s.

‘‘It’s going to be dry, hot and a change in the south, but the change won’t be helping things in the north,’’ bureau state manager Andrew Tupper said.

He said there would be a risk of dry lightning, which occurs when electrical storms hit without rain managing to make it to the ground.

Temperatures hit 39°C in Melbourne and above 40°C in regional towns yesterday.

Total fire bans remain across the Mallee, Wimmera and south-west districts in the state.

Story from the Shepparton News - “Victoria to swelter for second straight day.”