At least three homes and nearly a dozen outbuildings have been destroyed by the fire in Victoria’s Grampians, as a new fire threatens homes and lives in Western Australia.
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, said on Sunday morning that assessments of the damage were still continuing, and the full impact of the blaze was not yet clear. She thanked those in the path of the fire for listening to warnings and taking action to stay safe.
But she reminded Victorians that it was only the “start of a dangerous summer period”.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said federal and state disaster recovery payments would be available from 2pm Monday for people directly affected by the fires, providing up to 13 weeks of income support.
Allan gave “heartfelt” thanks to the firefighters who fought the fire, which had been traced back to a lightening strike, over the Christmas period.
She said it was remarkable that a fire that has so far burned through 76,000 hectares had not resulted in any loss of life.
“There have been three properties lost at current estimates and our thoughts also go to those property owners, farmers, primary producers who have lost livestock as well,” she said.
Allan said the fire was expected to continue to burn for some time, with firefighters keeping a 384km perimeter around the blaze at any given time, wary of the wind acting as a “ignition point”.
The fire has claimed a significant number of livestock, with work ongoing to assess the extent of the fire’s damage.
Conditions have eased in Victoria, with cooler weather bringing some relief to crews battling the fire in the Grampians and the whole state facing moderate fire conditions on Sunday.
James Taylor, from the State Control Centre, said the easing conditions had helped firefighters attempting to contain the blaze.
“Some mild weather overnight has assisted firefighting efforts and has given crews the chance to strengthen containment lines. Crews will continue to black out the fire with help from machinery and aircraft today.”
Three watch and act alerts have remained active for areas around western Victoria’s Grampians national park.
But emergency warnings were issued for communities in Western Australia’s midwest, south of Geraldton, where residents were urged to evacuate as a fire approached.
Emergency warnings were in place for parts of Mount Adams, Irwin, Mount Horner and Yardarino. An evacuation centre has been set up at Dongara.
“You are in danger and need to act immediately to survive. There is a threat to lives and homes,” the Department of Fire and Emergency Services warning said.
The fire was moving in a westerly direction, closing major roads including the Brand Highway.
About 60 Bush Fire Service, Volunteer Fire and Emergency Services and Volunteer Fire and Rescue Service firefighters were battling the fire, with about 1,700 hectare burnt by Sunday morning.
Separate watch and act warnings were issued for fires at Springfield and Bookara.
In New South Wales, high fire danger remained active for the Northern Slopes, North Western, Upper Central West Plains, Greater Hunter and Sydney regions amid ongoing high temperatures.
Towns across central and western NSW face multiple days of maximums over 33C, including Parkes, Dubbo and Forbes.
