SYDNEY: A bushfire in Australia’s Victoria state raged out of control on Saturday, with authorities issuing a fresh evacuation alert at the highest danger rating for hundreds of residents in the state’s west.

The emergency warning followed the downgrading on Saturday of another bushfire, sparked earlier this week, that has killed livestock, destroyed properties and forced more than 2,000 people to leave western towns and head to the city of Ballarat.

The new blaze was threatening the rural town of Amphitheatre, population 223.

“Leaving immediately is the safest option, before conditions become too dangerous,” Vic Emer­gency said on its website, adding that the fire was “not yet under control”.

The Australian Broad­cas­ting Corp reported that three homes and several outbuildings had been destroyed this week in Victoria’s bushfire emergency.

Published in Dawn, February 25th, 2024

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