Headline: Halls Gap residents told to leave immediately, holiday-makers urged to stay away as Grampians fire more than triples in size

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Communities in Victoria are on high alert with more emergency warnings issued today for out-of-control fires. In the west of the state, residents have evacuated, and some are preparing to spend Christmas away from home as firefighters brace for more difficult conditions to come.

Transcript

00:00Thick plumes of smoke blow into the air as bushfire moves quickly through the Grampians

00:08National Park.

00:11Residents in nearby areas were forced to flee as winds pushed the blaze north.

00:16We saw the fire grew twice in size yesterday so that was really terrifying and we didn't

00:24hesitate to get out.

00:26The fire was sparked by a lightning strike on Tuesday.

00:29The dry, rugged landscape proving a challenge for firefighters.

00:33When fires start in inaccessible areas we can't get machinery in there, aircraft penetration

00:38from above is limited and fires can get established and that's exactly what's happened here.

00:45It's the second time this year bushfires have threatened communities near the National Park.

00:50In February almost 50 homes were destroyed when fires tore through Pomona.

00:54We went through the fires in February this year and we could see the same thing was going

01:01to happen all over again.

01:02Our place then was quite badly burnt, we lost sheds, fences, tanks and a lot of the vegetation.

01:11It's another blow for a community that relies heavily on tourism but this caravan park 25

01:16kilometres from Halls Gap remains open and it's offering evacuees a place to stay.

01:21We had a few calls for people evacuating Halls Gap because that's being told to leave.

01:26I've had a few people ring up wanting tents and cabins and all that and I'm like yeah

01:32well that's what we're here for, for the community to help them out with that.

01:35There's a separate bushfire burning north west of Melbourne.

01:39Residents in Ballongarook were also told to evacuate.

01:42I've been here for 40 years and this is definitely the closest there's ever been a fire this

01:50size for sure.

01:51Residents now forced to spend their Christmas break deciding whether to stay or go.

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