Go Back
  • For Business
  • |
  • Warnings
  • Data Suite
  • Forensics
  • Advertising
  • Superior Accuracy™
Flood-weary Texas finally drying out, but near 100-degree heat looms Chevron right
Tropical rainstorm soaks Florida, could strengthen in Gulf before targeting Louisiana Chevron right

Columbus, OH

87°F
Location Chevron down
Location News Videos
Use Current Location
Recent

Columbus

Ohio

87°
No results found.
Try searching for a city, zip code or point of interest.
settings
Columbus, OH Weather
Today WinterCast Local {stormName} Tracker Hourly Daily Radar MinuteCast Monthly Air Quality Health & Activities

Around the Globe

Hurricane Tracker

Severe Weather

Radar & Maps

News

News & Features

Astronomy

Business

Climate

Health

Recreation

Sports

Travel

For Business

Warnings

Data Suite

Forensics

Advertising

Superior Accuracy™

Video

Winter Center

AccuWeather Early Hurricane Center Top Stories Trending Today Astronomy Heat Climate Health Recreation In Memoriam Case Studies Blogs & Webinars

News / Severe Weather

Mass evacuations underway in Australia as raging fires endanger towns, char million of acres

By Mark Puleo, AccuWeather staff writer & Adam Douty, AccuWeather senior meteorologist

Published Jan 2, 2020 9:39 PM EDT

Copied

As a wildfire scorched through India MacDonell's home in Goongerah, Victoria, on Dec. 30, she desperately tried to put out the fire using a water hose.

Tens of thousands of residents were driven from their homes throughout the states of New South Wales and Victoria as Australia's catastrophic bushfire season continues.

Communities within New South Wales and Victoria were placed under a declared state of emergency on Thursday morning, allowing New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews to forcibly open or close roads and mandate public evacuations.

"We don't take these decisions lightly," Berejiklian said, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.

Australia bushfires rage out of control
Twitter

Kangaroo Island was another place where the bushfire situation worsened on Friday. A fire, named the Ravine fire, was burning on the island's west end for several days within containment lines.

Changing winds from an incoming front caused the fire to jump the containment lines, uncontrollably expanding in all directions through the Flinders Chase National Parks and towards Southern Ocean Lodge, a luxury resort in the area. While fighting the blaze, the Country Fire Service (CFS) closed roadways and asked for those in the region to evacuate, including the town of Parndana.

Reports came in Friday evening that the luxury resort sustained significant damage from the fires. However, in following their evacuation and fire emergency plan, no guests or staff were injured.

In response to the mass evacuations and need for help around Victoria, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Defence Minister Linda Reynolds agreed to send military aid to provide humanitarian assistance and carry out evacuations in the coming days.

Multiple Black Hawk and Chinook helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft and Navy vessels have been sent to Victoria and New South Wales for aid. The aircraft will be used for firefighting efforts as well.

The burnt acreage total and death toll were both officially raised on New Year's Day to total over 5 million hectares (12 million acres) of burnt land and 17 deaths. The deadly crisis has also extended to wildlife in the country, as an estimated 480 million animals have been killed by the disasters.

Sussan Ley, the federal environment minister, previously said that up to 30 percent of the country's koala population may have been killed due to the destruction of their habitat.

Smoke from the dozens of fires in Victoria and New South Wales was visible from space on Saturday. (Photo/NASA).

Saturday was another destructive day as hot, dry air and strong winds fueled fires. Pictures from the air shows a phenomenon called pyroculumous clouds.

This is the view from a @Qantas flight on its way to Melbourne tonight. My housemate is on board. #AustraliaBurning @7NewsMelbourne pic.twitter.com/65HaneQKnO

— Blake Johnson (@BlakeJohnson) January 4, 2020

Pyrocumulous clouds form as hot air from a large wildfire rises into an unstable part of the atmosphere, similar to that of a developing thunderstorm, and a smoke-filled cloud develops. In some occasions these clouds can produce rain, but also lightning that can spark new fires.

Some relief was seen on Sunday as more moist air, lighter wind and light rainfall moved across portions of Victoria. This has slowed the spread of some fires, though the Victoria Government still warns that fires may still quickly spread in some areas.

AccuWeather Meteorologists expect areas of light rain and lower temperatures to last into the beginning of the week across eastern Victoria and southeast New South Wales. This will continue to slow the progress of some fires.

During the second half of the week, another round of hot, dry and windy weather is expected. Progress that firefighters make early in the week containing fires will be threatened to be reversed late in the week.

Report a Typo
Comments that don't add to the conversation may be automatically or manually removed by Facebook or AccuWeather. Profanity, personal attacks, and spam will not be tolerated.
Comments
Hide Comments

Weather News

Weather News

Death toll reaches 129 in Texas as new flash flood threat expands

Jul. 13, 2025
Weather Forecasts

Flood-weary Texas finally drying out, but near 100-degree heat looms

Jul. 14, 2025
Weather News

The Deadliest Floods in Texas History: A State at Risk

Jul. 14, 2025
video

Before-and-after pictures show devastation caused by Texas floods

Jul. 9, 2025
Severe Weather

Severe weather to rumble in the central US through the holiday weekend

Jul. 6, 2025
Weather News

Record sargassum seaweed piles up on Caribbean islands, Gulf

Jul. 2, 2025
Weather News

Alabama teen in ICU after lightning strike hits boat, causing burns an...

Jul. 2, 2025
Show more Show less Chevron down

Topics

AccuWeather Early

Hurricane Center

Top Stories

Trending Today

Astronomy

Heat

Climate

Health

Recreation

In Memoriam

Case Studies

Blogs & Webinars

Top Stories

Weather Forecasts

Flood-weary Texas finally drying out, but near 100-degree heat looms

4 hours ago

Weather News

Thunderstorms bring more flooding, evacuations to central Texas

5 hours ago

Hurricane

Tropical Rainstorm to drench Florida, Gulf Coast

4 hours ago

Weather News

Grand Canyon fires force closures

5 hours ago

Severe Weather

Wildfire smoke may follow storms, severe weather in eastern US

4 hours ago

More Stories

Featured Stories

Astronomy

Noctilucent clouds shimmer in summer sky

5 hours ago

Recreation

Yellowstone’s landscape shifts again with discovery of new hot pool

7 hours ago

Weather News

Orcas are bringing humans gifts of food – but why?

3 days ago

Weather News

Giant shoes found spark mystery around the soldiers of ancient Rome

5 hours ago

Weather News

It’s not just humans – chimpanzees also like to follow trends

6 hours ago

AccuWeather Severe Weather Mass evacuations underway in Australia as raging fires endanger towns, char million of acres
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs AccuWeather Connect RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™ Personal Weather Stations
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs AccuWeather Connect RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™ Personal Weather Stations
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
© 2025 AccuWeather, Inc. "AccuWeather" and sun design are registered trademarks of AccuWeather, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | About Your Privacy Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

...

...

...