Heat Wave Leads to Warnings of Potentially Devastating Wildfires in Southern Australia

This undated handout image received on December 26, 2024 from the State Control Center of the Victoria Emergency Services shows officials on a road near a bushfire in the Grampians National Park in Australia's Victoria state. (Handout / S State Control Center of the Victoria Emergency Services / AFP)
This undated handout image received on December 26, 2024 from the State Control Center of the Victoria Emergency Services shows officials on a road near a bushfire in the Grampians National Park in Australia's Victoria state. (Handout / S State Control Center of the Victoria Emergency Services / AFP)
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Heat Wave Leads to Warnings of Potentially Devastating Wildfires in Southern Australia

This undated handout image received on December 26, 2024 from the State Control Center of the Victoria Emergency Services shows officials on a road near a bushfire in the Grampians National Park in Australia's Victoria state. (Handout / S State Control Center of the Victoria Emergency Services / AFP)
This undated handout image received on December 26, 2024 from the State Control Center of the Victoria Emergency Services shows officials on a road near a bushfire in the Grampians National Park in Australia's Victoria state. (Handout / S State Control Center of the Victoria Emergency Services / AFP)

Communities and firefighters across Australia’s second-most populous state were preparing Thursday for potentially devastating wildfires as a heat wave fanned by erratic winds presented the worst fire conditions in several years.

With temperatures in Victoria state reaching 37 degrees Celsius (99 degrees Fahrenheit) and with wind changes expected throughout the day, fire chiefs have issued stark warnings to rural communities to delay travel or leave their homes and seek safety at shelters.

Several fires are currently burning out of control across the state and Victoria deputy premier Ben Carroll said the possibility for further fires in the coming days was likely.

“Dangerous fire conditions are forming today and will go right through to Saturday,” he said at a press conference in Melbourne. “New fires can start anywhere and become dangerous very quickly.

The largest uncontained fire is located in the Grampians National Park and has burnt through 55,000 hectares so far, but no homes have been reported to have been lost.

However, Emergency Management Commissioner Rick Nugent said there were many residential properties on the fringes of the fire that could come under threat.

“I wouldn’t be surprised at some point if we do have residential losses,” Nugent said. “Firefighters, I can say, are doing everything possible to protect life and protect property.”

An emergency warning was issued by fire authorities for the small town of Mafeking, 260 kilometers (160 miles) west of Melbourne, on Thursday.

Residents there were told "you are in danger and need to act immediately to survive. The safest option is to take shelter indoors immediately, as it is too late to leave.”

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported around 100 personnel from other Australian states are now in Victoria to assist local firefighters battling the blazes. Firefighters are being assisted by scores of water-bombing aircraft.

Parts of neighboring South Australia and New South Wales states are also on high alert due to the heat wave and elevated fire risks.

The hot, dry conditions are being compared to the Black Summer fires that gripped Australia's two most populous states for months in 2019-20 and burned through 104 thousand square kilometers, an area roughly the size of Ohio, and destroyed thousands of homes and killed 33 people.



Virginia Zoo Welcomes Newborn Pygmy Hippopotamus as Year Ends

This photo provided by the Metro Richmond Zoo, shows a pygmy hippo on Dec. 23, 2024, in Moseley, Va. (Metro Richmond Zoo via AP)
This photo provided by the Metro Richmond Zoo, shows a pygmy hippo on Dec. 23, 2024, in Moseley, Va. (Metro Richmond Zoo via AP)
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Virginia Zoo Welcomes Newborn Pygmy Hippopotamus as Year Ends

This photo provided by the Metro Richmond Zoo, shows a pygmy hippo on Dec. 23, 2024, in Moseley, Va. (Metro Richmond Zoo via AP)
This photo provided by the Metro Richmond Zoo, shows a pygmy hippo on Dec. 23, 2024, in Moseley, Va. (Metro Richmond Zoo via AP)

A female pygmy hippopotamus delivered a healthy calf at the Metro Richmond Zoo earlier this month, officials said — the third baby hippo born at the zoo within the past five years.
The mother Iris gave birth to the female calf on Dec. 9 following a seven-month gestation, zoo officials said. The newborn, who has yet to be named, is the third calf for Iris and the father, Corwin. She was also the second calf to be born in December, according to the zoo.
“Most people don’t get a hippopotamus for Christmas at all, so we feel lucky to have received two over the years,” zoo officials said in a news release Tuesday.
Five days after her birth, the baby had a neonatal exam and weighed 15 pounds (6.8 kilograms). Officials said that fully grown pygmy hippos can weigh up to 600 pounds (270 kilograms).
According to the Richmond-area zoo, pygmy hippos are an endangered West African species, and only 2,500 mature hippos remain in the wild. Officials said pygmy hippos are distinctive from regular hippos because they do not live in groups and are usually solitary or in pairs.
“For this reason, once Iris’ two previous calves grew up, they were moved to other zoological facilities to live with future mates and continue contributing to the conservation of their species,” the news release said.