Via The Guardian, a report by the Australian Associated Press: Australia fires: Victoria issued code red bushfire warning amid thunderstorm asthma threat. Excerpt:
Victoria is under a total fire ban on Thursday as temperatures top 40C in the state’s north, and thunderstorm asthma could also put lives at risk, while South Australian residents on the Yorke Peninsula brace for a wind change that could threaten homes and lives.
Victorians facing code red bushfire conditions were told their houses were not built to withstand the conditions and they should get to major cities if they could.
Temperatures were forecast to stay well over 40C in the state’s north, and strong northerly winds put the Mallee and the Northern Country districts on a code red alert.
Conditions would be milder in the rest of the state, but fire danger ratings were listed as severe or very high, while temperatures were close to all-time November highs, with Melbourne forecast at 39C on Thursday.
A total fire ban was issued statewide, but the worst conditions were in the state’s north.
Code red signals the worst possible bushfire conditions and the safest place to be was away from high-risk fire areas within those districts, the Country Fire Association advised.
“Our community members should be prepared for fire, and know where to get information to make good decisions about your safety,” the emergency management commissioner, Andrew Crisp, said on Wednesday.
“Given fires could start and move quickly, you won’t always receive a warning or be told what to do if a fire starts.”
On Thursday, Crisp also warned that a southerly change expected to hit Victoria in the afternoon could potentially make conditions more difficult for firefighters and there was a chance dry lightning could spark fires.
All public parks in the code red areas would be closed, and some schools and early childhood centres would be closed.
“Homes are not built to withstand the types of fires we may see on a code red day and you don’t want to be caught travelling through areas on fire at the last minute if you wait and see,” the CFA chief officer Steve Warrington said.
Along with possible bushfires, the National Asthma Council Australia forecast Thursday’s pollen count in Victoria as “extreme”.
The alert coincided with the third anniversary of the epidemic thunderstorm asthma event, which claimed 10 lives on 21 November 2016.
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