Victoria bush blaze sends residents packing

Victoria bush blaze sends residents packing

A team of specialist Kiwi firefighters will be heading to Victoria to help battle the out-of-control bushfires.

Residents and visitors from three communities were evacuated this morning over fears of a new firestorm, fuelled by soaring temperatures.

There are serious concerns of a repeat of the Christmas Day tragedy.

Nobody's taking any chances. They've packed up, they're out and now they're safely on the road to safety.

It was an eerie feeling of déjà vu for some residents. Some residents who were forced to evacuate reminisced on Christmas Day, when they left the turkey in the oven in a dash for safety.

The already out-of-control fire has flared up again, fuelled by burning hot temperatures up to 40degC.

Around 500 firefighters, on the ground and in the air, are desperately doing what they can. But the blaze has still grown some 500 hectares over the past few days.

Twenty Kiwi firefighters are now heading to Victoria, where they will help out over the next week.

The bill for the raging fires on Christmas Day, when 116 homes were destroyed, already amounts to around AU$30 million.

The current blaze looks as though it will burn until the end of summer.

3 News