Too late to leave: Homes feared lost as fast-moving bushfire reaches Wimmera town

“Late last night the fire made a run into the town of Dimboola and fire agencies worked very hard to protect the township and an evacuation order was issued and a take-shelter-now emergency remains in place.”

The CFA chief added: “We do anticipate we’re likely to see some sheds and some outbuildings destroyed as a result of yesterday’s fire activity in the Little Desert fire, but we’ll confirm that later today.”

The Hindmarsh Shire Council said an evacuation centre had been set up at the Horsham Senior Citizens Centre.

The Western Highway is closed between Horsham and Dimboola and between Dimboola and Nhill. The Borung Highway between Dimboola and Cannum is also closed.

A spokesperson for the State Control Centre said: “The Little Desert National Park fire illustrates how quickly fires can spread under hot, dry and windy conditions such as those experienced on Monday when an extreme fire danger rating was forecast for Wimmera.”

Last night, CFA chief officer Heffernan told ABC Radio that north-eastern Victoria had a fire danger rating “just short of extreme” on Tuesday. Apart from Gippsland, the rest of the state is still under a high fire danger rating.

Emergency sirens wailed in Nhill as the fire flared on Monday afternoon. Wind gusts of 67 km/h were recorded at the town’s aerodrome at 5.39pm.

Another emergency warning was issued for Mirranatwa and the Victoria Valley in the Grampians after a fire started near Bullawin Road.

Another watch-and-act warning stated Strachans campground in the Grampians National Park is not safe to return to after an emergency alert was issued last night.

A watch-and-act alert was also in effect for Cranage and Zumsteins in the national park’s north.

A bushfire that started in the Little Desert National Park in Victoria’s far-west spread rapidly on Monday.Credit: Bruce Donnelly/Facebook

State Response Controller Garry Cook told 3AW that firefighting aircraft would fly across to the Little Desert fire to support ground crews on Tuesday morning.

“There will be southerly winds on the fires today, and as the temperatures warm up again, there will be pressure, particularly on the northern edges of those fires,” he said.

“So [there is] a lot of work for firefighters out there today, on both the Grampians, and the Little Desert fire.”

Strong northerly winds pushed temperatures beyond 40 degrees across much of Victoria on Monday. In Melbourne, the mercury reached 39.3 degrees before a cool change hit just before 6pm.