Bushfires across the Australian state of Victoria were destroying homes, forcing evacuations, and burning through vast swathes of bushland, authorities said on Friday.
Victoria's Emergency Management Commissioner Tim Wiebusch said firefighters were battling around 30 active blazes as the state's fire danger rating hit the highest "catastrophic" level.
Temperatures were forecast to reach 46 degrees Celsius (115 degrees Fahrenheit), with damaging winds expected to make conditions "undefendable" in some areas, authorities said.
Dozens of communities have been evacuated and many parks and campgrounds closed as the fires continue to spread.
"If you don't leave now, it could result in your life being lost," Wiebusch said.
A major fire near the town of Longwood has burned more than 35,000 hectares (86,486 acres), destroying multiple homes and community buildings, while another blaze near Walwa has spread across about 20,000 hectares of bushland.
Victoria Police said two adults and a child were also missing in the Longwood area after their home was destroyed by fire.
"Some properties have lost everything," Longwood fire captain George Noye said. "They've lost their livelihoods, they've lost their shearing sheds, livestock, just absolutely devastating."
Victoria's state Premier Jacinta Allan called the blaze "one of the most dangerous fire days that this state has experienced in years."
The bushfires ignited on Wednesday as an intense heat wave swept southern Australia, creating the most dangerous bushfire conditions since the "Black Summer" blazes from late 2019 to early 2020 that killed 33 people and devastated vast areas of the southeast.
Australia remains one of the world's largest producers and exporters of gas and coal, key fossil fuels that act as major contributors to global warming.
The country's climate has warmed by an average of 1.51°C since 1910, scientists say, fueling increasingly frequent extreme weather.
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