Australia Predicts Forest And Land Fires In Victoria Can Only Go Out For Days

Illustration of extinguishing forest and land fires or forest and land fires. (Between)

JAKARTA - Forest and land fires (karhutla) that are still not under control are still raging in the state of Victoria, Australia.

Deputy Chief Officer of the State Fire Authority, Garry Cook, said forest and land fires in Victoria had engulfed 34,000 hectares of shrubs. He estimates that the fire will only be extinguished for the next days.

"There's still a lot of fuel that hasn't caught fire in the Grampians, so it's been a tough challenge for the next few days," Cook told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

Local authorities have also issued instructions for Victorians to carry out emergency evacuations. Mainly residents in areas with dangerous forest and land fires around the Grampians National Park, located 241 km west of Melbourne's state capital.

The first order to evacuate was addressed to Halls Gap residents, who have a population of 495 people, since the forest and land fires in Victoria took place on Tuesday, December 17.

The lightning-triggered forest and land fires efforts have involved hundreds of firefighters, including the deployment of 100 tankers and 25 aircraft yesterday.

The forest and land fires during the 2019-2020 pandemic season in Australia had engulfed the area of Turkey, killing 33 people.