Melbourne, Jan. 8 -- Residents in four regions in the southeast Australian state of Victoria have been told to evacuate their homes by Friday morning as authorities declared a catastrophic bushfire danger rating on Thursday.
The Country Fire Authority (CFA) on Thursday declared the highest-level catastrophic fire danger rating for Friday in four regions in central, north, northwest, and southwest Victoria and an extreme fire danger rating for the rest of the state.
It marks the first time that catastrophic fire danger ratings have been declared for multiple regions in Victoria since November 2019, with forecast temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius expected to be exacerbated by strong winds and possible dry lightning across the state ...