Evacuation orders issued in Australia's Victoria state as bushfire spreads

ANKARA

Authorities in Australia's southeastern Victoria state have issued orders for evacuation after a bushfire spread in the Grampians region, according to local media.

Police have informed the local communities in western Victoria of the threat and urged people to leave immediately, with a fire in the Grampians region more than tripling in size in 24 hours, ABC News reported Saturday.

Police also asked the holiday-makers to avoid the area as the fire is spreading there.

People in Bellfield, Bellfield Settlement, Flat Rock Crossing, Fyans Creek, Halls Gap and Grampians Junction have been told to evacuate immediately.

The bushfire is more than 30,000 hectares in size, having spread from about 7,500 hectares on Friday morning, according to the broadcaster.

A Forest Fire Management Victoria official said that the landscape was extremely dry and currently the wind is pushing the fire in some areas.

"This fire is in areas we cannot get machinery or crews into and so our strategy has to be 'burning out' – the 'fight fire with fire' idea," Glen Rudolph from Forest Fire Management Victoria said.

Currently, some 400 firefighters are working to fight the blaze with more than 100 tankers and 25 aircraft.

Last week, authorities also ordered residents of several towns in Victoria state to evacuate after an "out-of-control" bushfire south of Ballarat city.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid