Four thousand people are trapped on a beach in Victoria as the sky turns black and red – and volunteer firefighters plan to create a ‘wall of water’ as a last line of defence
- Thousands of people are trapped on a beach in Victoria’s East Gippsland as bushfires close in on Tuesday
- Authorities believe about 4000 people are still at Mallacoota, with many seeking shelter at the beach
- Residents and holidaymakers were told to leave the region by Monday morning amid deteriorating conditions
Thousands of people who were warned to flee a Victorian coastal holiday town are trapped on a beach and being told to go into the water as a bushfire closes in.
Authorities believe about 4000 people are still at Mallacoota, in the state’s far east, which is being hit by fire about 8.30am on Tuesday.
Residents and holidaymakers were told to leave the region by Monday morning, as authorities prepared to close the Princes Highway amid the deteriorating conditions.
‘We are very concerned about communities that have become isolated and to get an appreciation about other losses there could be we’ll be putting helicopters up doing reconnaissance flights,’ Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp said.
The sky turned an eerie shade of black on Tuesday morning in Mallacoota as firefighters desperately tried to create a ‘wall of water’ as a last line of defence.
Terrified people trapped on the beach said they were standing on the pier with lifejackets waiting for the signal to jump in the water.
The fires grew rapidly overnight due to winds and lightning strikes and have ripped through more than 200,000 hectares in Victoria’s East Gippsland.
Pictured: The sky turned a deep shade of red in Mallacoota about 7.30am on Tuesday
Authorities believe about 4000 people are trapped at Mallacoota, in the state’s far east. Pictured: Dark skies on Tuesday morning
Fires rapidly grew on Monday night due to winds and lightning strikes, ripping through more than 200,000 hectares in Victoria’s East Gippsland
Firetrucks roll into Mallacoota, as residents and holidaymakers are trapped at the beach
Residents in Mallacoota camp out beside the beach as a raging bushfire closes in on Tuesday
The fire has cut power to the town, with AusNet Services reporting 5700 properties in East Gippsland without electricity due to the fires, and another 1800 in northeast Victoria also down.
Mobile and landline phone lines are also down in parts.
‘It’s not pleasant, it’s pitch dark here and the emergency vehicles have disappeared from sight,’ resident and local community radio presenter Francesca Winterson told ABC Gippsland.
‘The power’s been out here a long time and we’ve run out of solar.
‘My home’s in the fire path, I won’t have a home, that’s just the way it’s going to be, we have to try and be calm.’
One resident wrote on Twitter: ‘The darkness in Mallacoota is utterly surreal. Not far off pitch black when this should be a beautiful sunny morning.’
‘This is the worst waiting now. Pitch black. The roar of… something. No visible fire but we (and our CFA neighbour) are sure it’s coming.’
One resident found refuge on a houseboat in Mallacoota and took this picture
Mallacoota, in Victoria, was still pitch black at 8.4am on Tuesday
Mr Crisp said on Monday morning it was too dangerous for people to leave as out-of-control fires took hold of East Gippsland.
‘If you’re not out by 9am, you’ve got to stay where you are, because there’s every chance the Princes Highway could be cut,’ he told Sunrise.
The Princes Highway between Bairnsdale and Genoa was then shut at 1pm on and remains closed.
VicTraffic said: ‘The Princes Highway in East Gippsland remains closed between Bairnsdale and Genoa, due to the fires. Major road closures include the Bonang and Great Alpine roads, and Monaro Highway.’
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