Pound Creek tops 40-degree mark on ‘catastrophic’ fire day
ON A day when much of the state was rated as ‘catastrophic’, temperatures in Bass Coast and South Gippsland topped the 40 degree Celsius mark including at the Pound Creek weather station near Inverloch, recording 40.7C at 3.40pm.
ON A day when much of the state was rated as ‘catastrophic’, from a fire danger perspective, temperatures in Bass Coast and South Gippsland topped the 40 degree Celsius mark in some locations, with the Pound Creek weather station near Inverloch recording 40.7C at 3.40pm or 105.26 in the old Fahrenheit measure.
Meanwhile north-west winds were gusting to 30km/h, the combination of which, hot winds together with 40 degree-plus heat, not being experienced since Black Saturday, February 7, 2009, when as many as 400 individual fires ravaged the state with the loss of 173 lives.
However, as the change approaches, with light showers in Wonthaggi at 4.15pm on Friday, January 9, and temperatures dropping to 28C by 4,45pm and due to arrive in Melbourne before 6pm, there have been no signs of fires in the Bass Coast and South Gippsland local government areas which, like the rest of the state, is subject to a Total Fire Ban.
That’s not the case elsewhere where there are serious bushfires raging in the west, north and east of the state, with diversions on most of the state’s main highways including the Hume Highway which is closed between Seymour and Violet Town.
The Calder Freeway south of Bendigo is also closed and over 100 sets of traffic lights are out across Melbourne and other parts of the state. Avoid travel in fire affected areas but if you must go, consult the Victraffic website, click HERE.
There are widespread power outages again, not impacting South Gippsland and Bass Coast.
Beach crowds were noticeably down at local beaches due to a cool start to the day on Friday, turning quickly to scorching temperatures just after lunchtime.
