Residents of more than 1,000 Victorian homes are being urged to leave before sunset in anticipation of a massive fire spreading and the arrival of a severe heatwave across southeast Australia.
Victoria Police and State Emergency Service crews began door knocking homes and properties in the Greater Otways area on Monday, strongly recommending that residents evacuate immediately.
Those living in the southwestern Victorian towns of Gellibrand, Kawarren, Beech Forest, Forrest, Barongarook and surrounding areas in the Otways National Park were urged to escape the growing Carlisle River fire.
It breached containment lines on Saturday afternoon and has burned approximately 9,400 hectares.
Meanwhile, South Australians faced record-breaking heat on Monday, smashing its 26 January 26 with the mercury at 44.4C at 5pm — more than three degrees higher than the 41.1C set on the same date in 2006.
It was hotter still in the northern suburbs and even more so in the west and north of the state, with Ceduna recording an eye-watering 49.5C peak.
A cooler change is expected to bring a measure of temporary relief for coastal areas with milder conditions during the middle of the week, but fire danger and heat stress impacts remain extreme.
Gusty winds will elevate the fire danger in both SA and Victoria, as well as the Central Ranges of NSW.
Extreme heat forecast for Tuesday
The temperature is set to reach 45C in Melbourne on Tuesday, while the town of Renmark in SA's Murray Mallee is looking at a potential top of 48C.
Mildura is forecast to hit 49C, two full degrees above the previous all-time high of 47C.
"If you wanted to go back to when we last saw maximum temperatures of 44 degrees or above [in Melbourne], you'd have to go back to 2009 during Black Saturday," the Bureau of Meteorology's Sarah Scully said.
Total fire bans in place
In Victoria, a statewide total fire ban has been issued for Tuesday and all visitor sites in the Great Otway National Park and State Forests have been closed until further notice.
"The conditions tomorrow mean the fire could spread quickly and unpredictably," said Colac deputy incident controller Alistair Drayton.
"We strongly recommend people in affected areas to enact their bushfire plan, and leave early to protect themselves and their families."
In an urgent warning, the SES said: "Don't wait for Police. The message is to leave today."
Relief centres for evacuees have been set up in Colac, about two hours south of Melbourne.
"This is a very serious set of weather conditions," Emergency Management Commissioner Tim Wiebusch said on Sunday.
"We haven't seen heatwave conditions like this in Victoria for almost 20 years."
Otways fire could take more than a week to control
Several locations in Victoria's north are facing the prospect of seven consecutive days of maximums above 40C.
Country Fire Authority chief Jason Heffernan said the blaze burning in the Otways, about 200km southwest of Melbourne, would not be controlled ahead of the heatwave.
"It will be challenging for firefighters to fight fire in those conditions but a challenge for communities. Look after yourself, your neighbour and your friends, particularly in the northern part of the state as it will remain hot," he said.
"The elderly, the infirm, the frail, the very young and the sick are most susceptible to heat and deteriorate very quickly under these conditions."
It could be up to eight days before favourable conditions would allow fire crews to get control of the blaze, Heffernan said.
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