The devastating bush fires in Australia spread over the weekend. Because of the risk of further fires, residents and holidaymakers were asked to leave certain regions of the southeastern state of Victoria. For Monday, temperatures of more than 40 degrees Celsius, strong winds from changing directions and thunderstorms are expected, the civil protection agency said on Sunday. This increases the risk of fire.
The East Gippsland region is particularly affected. Residents and tens of thousands of vacationers are therefore asked to vacate the area east of the city of Bairnsdale by Monday morning at the latest, said agency chief Andrew Crisp. "You shouldn't be there tomorrow and we want you to go now." Bairnsdale is around 280 kilometers east of the metropolis of Melbourne.
A music festival, which was to take place in the affected area at the turn of the year, was canceled on Sunday morning. Around 9,000 visitors were already on the site and had to leave.
In the state of New South Wales alone, 85 fires were currently blazing, 40 of them were out of control, regional fire chief Shane Fitzsimmons said on Sunday. The day before, the fire department had spoken of 70 fires, 30 of which were not controlled.
Compensation for volunteer fire fighters
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Detail of Australia with the fires and bushfires
The bushfires have raged in five Australian states since September. To date, more than four million hectares of land have been destroyed. Eight people died in connection with the fires.
Meanwhile, the Australian government has announced compensation for the volunteer firefighters for their grueling fight against the bushfires. Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who had previously been accused of lacking support from the emergency services, announced a daily flat rate of just under EUR 190 on Sunday. In New South Wales, volunteers make up around 90 percent of the fire service. Many of them took vacations to face the inferno.
To get the money, the firefighters had to work for the Rural Fire Service (RFS) for more than ten days and either work as a self-employed person or with a small or medium-sized company. In addition, the - tax-free - total amount is capped at 6000 Australian dollars, the equivalent of about 3750 euros.
