Fire threat continues to be ‘very dangerous and difficult’, Victoria’s premier says
Caitlin Cassidy
Victoria’s premier, Jacinta Allan, is appearing on the Today show after declaring a state of disaster in more than a dozen areas earlier this morning resulting from the ongoing bushfires.
Allan confirms there are 36 active fire fronts across Victoria today, spanning “pretty much all parts of the state”.
To give you a sense of the seriousness of these fires, there’s 19 emergency warnings and alerts out for those communities giving them advice to evacuate or leave because of the threat of the fire.
She says “thousands” of firefighters and emergency services have worked through the night as the fire threat continues to be “very dangerous and difficult”.
There has been a bit of a weather change. So whilst it’s not the extreme heat in southern parts of the state, in northern parts of the state, it continues to be hot. It continues to be windy.
Key events
Victorian firefighters given access to defence force barracks accommodation
Firefighters with Victoria’s Country Fire Authority have been given access to Australian Defence Force barracks after a request for accommodation support, the prime minister says.
Once again, we see our Defence Force personnel providing that support, both through personnel but also through infrastructure.
The PM says the federal government is ready to support Victoria after a state of emergency was declared.
Australians are facing extreme and dangerous weather conditions, PM says
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has spoken to reporters after a tour of the National Situation Room in Canberra on Saturday morning.
Australians across the country are facing extreme and dangerous weather conditions, with bushfires burning in multiple states, but particularly Victoria, and severe weather across far north Queensland and the north-west Queensland region. My thoughts are with the residents of these communities at this very difficult time.
The PM has praised rural and country fire services, volunteers, police and emergency coordinators for their efforts to prepare for this fire season.
He says that these preparations means responses “can be very fast”. He adds that he has spoken with the Victorian and Queensland premiers and will remain “in regular, ongoing contact” with both.
I want to specifically send my thoughts to those Victorians who have had the devastating news that they’ve lost their homes over the last 24 hours.
The press conference is moving to questions now, with the Premier providing more detail over the request for assistance by the Victorian Country Fire Service.
He says a request has been made for additional strike teams, “as well as a number of aircraft and ancillary support” in the last 24 hours.
These aircraft have already been pre-positioned at the border in case the fires burning in Victoria cross the Murray.
In response to other questions, Minns says he is not aware of any requests for assistance from Queensland, which has been dealing with a cyclone.
Across the eastern seaboard, we work really closely with the other premiers, the other emergency services. And look, we’re all Australians. It’s everyone’s responsibility to fight a fire, or help with the cyclone when it occurs.
New South Wales is moving to send additional firefighting teams to Victoria after a request for assistance, the Premier says.
There’s over 90 firefighters from New South Wales in Victoria. At the moment their agencies have asked for more strike teams. My understanding is the RFS is filling those gaps as quickly as possible and sending them across the Murray.
Minns says there are over 600 firefighters in New South Wales ready to respond to incidents as they develop.
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns is speaking now and is encouraging people to “look after each other”, to check in on each other.
It will be an incredibly challenging day for the health system, as well as the RFS and Fire and Rescue, and we’re calling on the community to do their bit, and that means look after one enough, particularly the vulnerable, particularly the old and the young, make sure that you’re look after your pets as well.
We do lose people on these incredibly hot days. People die as a result of extreme heat in Australia.
The Premier said he’s also concerned for those attending 30 music festivals across the state and has encouraged attendees to make sure they are hydrated.
NSW emergency services minister urges people to respect fire bans
The NSW emergency services minister, Jihad Dib, is seeking to reassure residents that the state government is prepared to respond rapidly to any fire spread.
On top of that, we’re also making sure that we support our brothers and sisters in Victoria, and really want to acknowledge the difficulty that they’re having, and our thoughts are with them.
Dib has called on residents not to take any risks and to respect fire bans, including no barbecues or welding, as “anything can happen very quickly”.
I want to reassure people we are doing our very best. We’re prepared as best as we possibly can. Obviously we’ll adapt to whatever the conditions are. We know that it’s hot. We know that it’s dangerous. We know that things will pop up. But I also know that our firefighters and all of our agencies are there, ready to go, ready to adapt.
Rural Fire Service chief says NSW is prepared for bushfires
The New South Wales Rural Fire Service commissioner, Trent Curtin, says total fire bans are in place over much of NSW, with 44 fires burning across the state, but none of “very serious concern” at present.
We enter today in good condition in NSW, ready to fight bushfires that might start throughout the day.
Curtin says there is significant presence, with 600 firefighters, 50 aircraft, including four heavy aircraft and three large air tankers. He adds that there is additional aircraft available if needed.
If you live near the bush or anywhere near a risk area, you should activate your bushfire survival plan today and make sure you’re monitoring conditions through the media and through the Hazards Near Me app.
We are expecting New South Wales Premier Chris Minns and Minister for Emergency Services Jihad Dib will speak to the media in the next few minutes along since NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Trent Curtin and NSW Ambulance Commissioner Dominic Morgan.
They will be providing an update on the emergency response to fires occurring in New South Wales.
We will bring you the latest as it happens.
Multiple properties lost across different fire fronts, Allan says
Victoria’s premier, Jacinta Allan, is also appearing on ABC News Breakfast as she does the media rounds after declaring the state of disaster in 18 government areas.
Allan says the government has been unable to confirm how many property losses there have been, as it hasn’t been safe for assessment teams to head out, but from on-the-ground reports and aerial surveillance, they know there have been “a number of properties that have been lost across a number of the different fire fronts”.
We know there’s been damage to stock, loss of stock, loss of crops and of productive areas, like around Harcourt, a prime apple-growing community. So those assessments will be undertaken and we will work with those families on what will be a long recovery journey ahead.
She reiterates today is “another difficult day” for firefighters, with continued wind across Victoria and heat in northern parts of the state.
If you are told to leave, please do so because we know that is the best way to save lives. It is also our way of supporting the firefighters who are out there on the frontline right now.
Three people remain missing in Longwood fires, premier says
Jacinta Allan says three people who have been missing in the Longwood fires since yesterday afternoon remain unaccounted for.
The Victoria police deputy commissioner Bob Hill said yesterday that firefighters had spoken to the man, woman and child on Thursday morning and warned it was too late to leave the area. When crews returned later that afternoon, the house they had been standing in front of had been “completely destroyed”.
Allan says:
As soon as we get further details through Victoria police, we will be providing confirmation because I understand that people are anxious to know about how their friends and family and loved ones are going, and it’s also a reminder for people to check in, check in on your family and friends and neighbours, because this continues to be both a difficult and very dynamic time.
Fire threat continues to be ‘very dangerous and difficult’, Victoria’s premier says
Caitlin Cassidy
Victoria’s premier, Jacinta Allan, is appearing on the Today show after declaring a state of disaster in more than a dozen areas earlier this morning resulting from the ongoing bushfires.
Allan confirms there are 36 active fire fronts across Victoria today, spanning “pretty much all parts of the state”.
To give you a sense of the seriousness of these fires, there’s 19 emergency warnings and alerts out for those communities giving them advice to evacuate or leave because of the threat of the fire.
She says “thousands” of firefighters and emergency services have worked through the night as the fire threat continues to be “very dangerous and difficult”.
There has been a bit of a weather change. So whilst it’s not the extreme heat in southern parts of the state, in northern parts of the state, it continues to be hot. It continues to be windy.
Victorian premier declares a state of disaster in 18 local government areas
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, has declared a state of disaster in 18 local government areas as the state battles an escalating bushfire crisis that has destroyed at least 10 homes, prompted evacuations and razed more than 50,000 hectares of bushland, Australian Associated Press reports.
Allan said the declaration overnight was in response to danger to life or property in the affected areas and “sends a clear message to those who have been advised to leave: if you can, you must”.
Tonight, I declared a State of Disaster, which gives our authorities additional powers to confront an emergency of extraordinary scale and danger. It’s all about one thing: protecting Victorian lives. And it sends one clear message: if you have been told to leave – go.
This… pic.twitter.com/fgeGjXNl3a
— Jacinta Allan (@JacintaAllanMP) January 9, 2026
She said in a post on X that the decision gave agencies more powers to tackle the fires.
Tonight, I declared a State of Disaster, which gives our authorities additional powers to confront an emergency of extraordinary scale and danger. It’s all about one thing: protecting Victorian lives. And it sends one clear message: if you have been told to leave – go.
Three people remained missing in the dozens of fires burning on Friday amid a severe heatwave, in what state authorities described as the worst bushfires since the 2019-20 black summer blazes.
Those missing – two adults and a child – were unaccounted for on Thursday after fire destroyed their house in the hard-hit town of Longwood, about 50km north of Melbourne, authorities said.
In the nearby town of Ruffy, properties, including a school, were lost to fire and a local firefighter was hospitalised with third-degree burns to his hands.
About 230km east, a separate fire near the border town of Walwa, tore through a pine tree plantation.
The massive Longwood fire has burned more than 35,000 hectares while the blaze near Walwa has burned more than 17,000.
Both fires, among the fiercest raging across the state, were expected to burn uncontrolled for weeks, despite the efforts of hundreds of firefighters working in the field.
Good morning
Welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the heatwave that has engulfed much of Australia this past week, with conditions not seen since the deadly black summer in 2019-20.
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, has declared a state of disaster in 18 local government areas and an alpine resort as the state battles an escalating bushfire crisis that has destroyed multiple homes, prompted evacuations and razed tens of thousands of hectares of bushland.
A total fire ban is in place for the entire state and three people remain unaccounted for, last seen on Thursday afternoon, as the Longwood bushfire continues to rage.
Sydney is bracing for temperatures to surpass 40C today – with western Sydney to swelter even more.
We’ll be bringing you all the latest coverage. Stay tuned – and stay safe.
