A family in Victoria is missing after a terrifying bushfire ripped through their town amid catastrophic fire conditions across the state.
A fire at Longwood, 150km north of Melbourne, has been raging since Wednesday night, and wind and high temperatures are set to keep it going throughout Friday.
Officers are searching for a man, woman and child who were advised by fire services on Thursday to take shelter as it was too late to leave safely.
‘Later that afternoon, those same fire service representatives reattended that area to see the house,’ Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Bob Hill told reporters on Friday.
‘They saw those three people standing in front of [it, and it] had been completely destroyed.
‘Those three people remain unaccounted for. Those three people, we do not know at this point in time where they may be.
‘That particular area in Longwood East where that house has been destroyed is still a hot spot, and we’re yet to be able to put the strike teams from the fire service into that area to conduct an assessment for us.’
He said fire service teams are prioritising their efforts to go back to the home to ‘hopefully identify and find those three people safe and well’.
Officers are searching for a family of three in Longwood, who were last seen standing in front of their home which had been completely destroyed by a bushfire
The out-of-control blaze near Longwood, 150km north of Melbourne, has razed more than 35,000 hectares (pictured, devastation in the nearby town of Ruffy)
A photo taken by a passenger on a flight from Melbourne to Sydney flight showed a terrifying plume of smoke on Friday, illustrating the extent of the fires
‘Catastrophic’ fire risk ratings have been issued by the Country Fire Authority (CFA) for the Northern Country, North Central, Wimmera and South West districts.
The rest of Victoria – the Mallee, Central, North East, and Gippsland – are at ‘extreme risk’.
Authorities have said it is ‘too late to leave’ for some communities near the Longwood fire, which has razed more than 35,000 hectares.
A separate fire near Walwa and Mount Lawson along the Victoria–NSW border has burned more than 17,000 hectares.
A ‘take shelter now’ warning has also been issued for Caveat, Creightons Creek, Dropmore, Gobur, Gooram, Highlands, Kanumbra, Kelvin View, Locksley, Longwood, Longwood East, Ruffy, Strathbogie, Tarcombe, Terip Terip, Upton Hill.
The areas sit within the Strathbogie Shire, which has a population of 11,739 people – all of whom will be affected.
Max Furlanetto, from the small locality of Ruffy which is one of the worst-affected communities in the Longwood fire, has described the devastation in his community.
‘I know personally people who have lost houses, at least half a dozen,’ he told ABC News.
Ruffy, a locality in the Strathbogie Ranges about two hours from Melbourne, is one of the worst-affected areas of the Longwood fire
Residents in Ruffy shared photos of the sky red from flames and smoke
‘Catastrophic’ fire risk ratings have been issued by the Country Fire Authority (CFA) for the Northern Country, North Central, Wimmera and South West districts
‘They’re sheds that have been around for 50 years. They’re not small things.’
Owner of an excavation and earthworks busines, he added that he has been trying to source more equipment to remove fallen trees in surrounding areas.
‘Some of that would be pretty useful right now,’ he said.
A photo taken by a passenger on a flight from Melbourne to Sydney flight showed a terrifying plume of smoke on Friday, illustrating the extent of the fires.
CFA captain George Noye, who lives in the regional town of Ruffy, near the Longwood fire, has described the destruction.
‘It’s like a bomb has gone off, we got smashed by the fire spots,’ he said.
He added that a member of his crew is in hospital with third-degree burns to his hands.
After briefly reopening on Friday morning, authorities have again had to shut the Hume Freeway because of the Longwood fire.
Those evacuating the bushfire or who cannot avoid travel are being advised to detour via the Goulburn Valley Highway and Murchison-Violet Town Road.
Authorities said Friday that the state faces its worst fire threat since the Black Summer fires in 2019 and 2020, as at least 10 houses and a school have been lost.
‘It’s all going to be a very bad day,’ Little Yarra Country Fire Authority captain Peter Cookson said.
‘We all prepare for these days, and if nothing happens, that is a win. But you can’t say nothing will happen – with these things, they can all start from a spark.’
A community centre in Ruffy also caught fire
There were 30 active fires burning across Victoria on Friday morning
Some Victorians have been told it is too late to leave
It comes as a major heatwave sweeps across Australia’s southeast, with temperatures forecast to reach 43°C in Melbourne and up to 47°C in parts of inland Victoria on Friday.
The high temperatures are expected to affect the ACT and NSW, where a total fire ban has been declared in the eastern Riverina, southern Riverina, southern slopes and Monaro alpine regions for Friday.
Temperatures will not be quite as high in NSW, with Sydney set to reach a maximum of 33°C and Canberra expected to hit a high of 39°C.
But things are likely to worsen in the harbour city on Saturday with temperatures expected to reach 42°C and an even hotter forecast for the western suburbs.
NSW Ambulance chief superintendent Steve Vaughan urged residents to begin preparing for the hot conditions and stay cool, hydrated, and indoors during the hottest part of the day.
‘Heatwaves put real pressure on your body, with consecutive days of relentless heat causing stress that builds up over time,’ he said.
