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A wildfire threatening property glows at dusk near Clear Range, south of the Australian capital, Canberra, Friday, Jan. 31, 2020. The threat is posed by a blaze on Canberra’s southern fringe that has razed more than 21,500 hectares (53,000 acres) since it was sparked by heat from a military helicopter landing light on Monday, the Emergency Services Agency said.(AP Photo/Rick Rycroft) |
Fires have been burning and approaching the Australia capital city of Canberra for days, prompting a state of emergency on Friday morning. Canberra, located within the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), is the country’s eight-largest city and home to many federal governments institutions, monuments and museums, including the Parliament House.
Chief minister of the ACT, Andrew Barr, declared a state of emergency for the region on Friday midday, local time.
“This fire may become very unpredictable. It may become uncontrollable,” Barr said during a briefing. “The combination of extreme heat, wind and a dry landscape will place suburbs in Canberra’s south at risk.”
Barr, in a press release, said that the declaration was made to allow residents of the region to prepare going into the weekend.
Areas south of the city of Canberra have been the main target of the state of emergency, which was prompted by the expansion of the Orroral Valley Fire and the upgrade to Emergency level Friday evening.
Authorities reported that the fire grew to over 24,000 hectares at 11 p.m. Friday, local time, approximately eight percent of the territory’s total land mass.
Pyrocumulus clouds were visible from kilometers away from the fire.
The Emergency Services Agency for the region warned the fire may continue to spread as far as the southern suburbs of Tuggeranong over the weekend.
A front stalling in southern Victoria, which created gusty thunderstorms in the Melbourne area on Friday, helped to fuel gusty winds elsewhere across much of southeastern Australia. The front is expected to move toward Canberra throughout the weekend.
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The above satellite image shows the smoke from the burning bushfires in southeastern Australia streaming out over the water on Friday afternoon. Close behind, a front was moving into the Melbourne area with rain and thunderstorms (Photo/RAMMB). |
“A line of gusty thunderstorms is likely to move through the capital region late Saturday night or Sunday,” said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dave Houk.
While the rain will likely help to suppress the raging Orroral Valley Fire, the winds ahead of and with the line of thunderstorms may expand the perimeter of the fire quickly.
Friday’s state of emergency declaration comes following a 17-year absence for the territory. The last state of emergency for the region was in January of 2003, which was also prompted by nearby bushfires.