Australia fires: NSW, Victoria, SA, Qld and WA all face extreme bushfires risk – live | Australia news

Koala habitat still at risk

Meanwhile, the Nature Conservation Council says a policy announced today that is supposed to help koalas will “fall well short of what is required to protect the species.”

A significant proportion of koala habitat in NSW has been destroyed or is under threat from bushfires, including genetically significant populations in the Blue Mountains. It is enough to put the species at risk.

The NSW government today released a new State Environmental Planning Policy (Koala Habitat Protection) 2019. It clarifies the definition of core koala habitat and increase increases the number of tree species that can be used to identify koala habitat from 10 to 123.

“These changes are positive but local councils still under no obligation to develop koalas plans of management,” campaigner Shirley Hall said.

“Only a handful of the 88 councils in NSW identified as needing koala plans of management have developed them to a standard acceptable to the state government since the original koala SEPP was created in 1995.

“Part of the problem is that some councils are hostile to koala conservation. Others simply lack the resources to create the plan.”

It can cost up to $150,000 to put a koala plan of management in place in an individual local government area, Hall said. That cost would be covered with $12m in state funding, but the funding is not forthcoming.

“If the NSW Government is serious about koala conservation, it should make the development of koala plans of management compulsory for all identified regions and ensure all councils have the resources they need to implement them,” Hall said.

“Ninety-nine per cent of identified koala habitat on private land in NSW was risk of being cleared before these changes and that remains the case.”

To Queensland now, where AAP reports that 98 people (31 adults and 67 children) have been charged with arson by Queensland police.

Queensland has been battling devastating bushfires since August, losing 43 homes and 240,000 hectares of bushland.

Police said on Friday that 103 of the fires started since September were deliberately lit, and more than 120 fires are still being investigated to determine their ignition source.

Some 65 fires continued to burn across the state on Friday, jumping from 55 reported on Thursday.

Conditions are forecast to improve along the Queensland coast into next week but residents across the state should remain on alert about fire and heat warnings, the Bureau of Meteorology says.

“It is vital not to become complacent when hearing these continued warnings,” forecaster Rosa Hoff told media on Friday. “The danger is as real as it was the first day we experienced it in Queensland.”

There are now five fires burning at emergency warning level in South Australia.

The latest fire to be upgraded is a stubble fire at Dudley East on Kangaroo Island. Another fire is burning at emergency warning level near Menzies on the north side of the island.

The warning message from the CFS is very direct.

Act now. Leave, if the path is clear to a safer place, as it will soon be too dangerous to drive.

If you cannot leave, identify where you will seek shelter from the bushfire. Heat from the fire will kill you. Do not enter this area as conditions are dangerous.

The other fires at emergency warning level are at Maitland on the Yorke Peninsula, Cudlee Creek in the Adelaide Hills, and Virginia on Adelaide’s outskirts.

The cool change is tracking through SA at the moment, but that is not good news in the short term. It means a wind change, increased wind speeds, and the possibility of more dry lightning, as there’s no rain associated with the change.

There’s a thunderstorm warning for South Australia, including some areas that are currently affected by bushfires. So that’s smoke, hail, and damaging winds, all in one place.

Still in Victoria, a firefighter has reportedly been taken to hospital after suffering burns while trying to evacuate a childcare centre at Seaford, a suburb in Melbourne’s south-east.

The fire began as a house fire on Webb Street and spread to adjacent grasslands. It is uncontrolled and burning toward Frankston North, the CFA has said. The area is under a watch and act alert.

The Country Fire Authority has issued an emergency warning for a fast-moving grass fire burning north of Ararat, at the Lexton-Ararat Rd at Amphitheatre.

It’s good evening from me, Amy Corderoy, on the LiveBlog tonight. Calla Wahlquist will take over from now.

Four South Australian firefighters have been treated for burns and smoke inhalation and three firefighting vehicles have been destroyed, CFS officials have confirmed.

The service has been called to more than 120 fires today, but resources from interstate have been hampered by weather conditions.

“We called upon aerial support from New South Wales and Victoria, but, unfortunately, the prevailing weather conditions meant that we couldn’t use them for all of this afternoon and they had to be grounded for safety reasons,” a spokesman said.

SA police commissioner Grant Stevens said three police officers had also been injured.

“We have had three police officers who have been affected by smoke, one being admitted to hospital as a result of a fire in Rennella,” he said.

One person has died in South Australia and another is unaccounted for in the Cudlee Creek fire, the South Australian Premier has confirmed.

Steven Marshall described the incident as “very sad” and thanked authorities for doing all they could to help the victim.

“I want to say thank you very much to all of the volunteers who have done everything they possibly can, our CFS, our MFS, ambulance officers, State Emergency Services for the outstanding work they have done I will Oxley police commissioner to provide more details in a moment regarding the tragedy which has occurred in Lameroo,” he said.

SA police commissioner Grant Stevens said the person had died in a vehicle accident.

“It is unclear at this time the exact circumstances of the vehicle collision and because of the fire, but they are currently being investigated,” he said.

Eight people have been taken to hospital with burns and smoke inhalation in South Australia as fires continue to burn there, the ABC reports.

Fire authorities have warned motorists to be vigilant, and avoid contributing to congestion in fire-affected areas.

Here is where you can find information on fire-related road closures in your state: