Vic bushfires rage
Vic bushfires rage
6 December 2006
published by www.skynews.com.au
Victoria, Australia — Army troops have been called in to support firefighters in Victoria’s north east as the bureau predicts temperatures of up to 40 degrees over the weekend.
It’s feared more than 60 separate blazes will merge, to create a so-called superfire in the north east.
A Commonwealth disaster plan has been invoked, and the first soldier at the wheel of a fuel tanker is already in the Mansfield and Whitfield areas.
Residents east of Benalla and Buckland Valley are now being warned to watch for falling embers.
The Department of Sustainability and Environment and Country Fire Authority have issued a warning to a number of towns of the potential of advancing fire fronts.
A change of weather conditions is prompting fears the bushfires could burn through more than 600,000 hectares by next week.
The latest NASA satellite image shows a long line of smoke stretching right across the region.
