<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?> <docID>337118</docID> <postdate>2025-01-28 09:52:54</postdate> <headline>Out-of-control bushfires threaten homes, holiday spot</headline> <body><p><img class=" wp-image-337119" src="https://citynews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/victorian-bushfires-e1738018298321.jpg" alt="" width="901" height="600" /></p> <caption>A bushfire sparked by dry lightning is burning out of control in western Victoria. Photo: State Control Centre</caption> <p><span class="kicker-line">By <strong>Rachael Ward</strong> in Melbourne</span></p> <p><strong>Firefighters are battling two out-of-control bushfires, with residents of a regional town told it's too late to leave and holidaymakers at a national park urged to flee while they still can.</strong></p> <p>The blazes are at Dimboola and Wail in northwest Victoria near the South Australian border, and in the southwestern part of the Grampians National Park.</p> <p>The Dimboola fire was sparked by dry lightning at Little Desert National Park about lunch time on Monday and has already grown to 63,000 hectares, State Control Centre spokesperson Luke Heagerty said.</p> <p>"The fire grew to such a size and was carrying such energy with it yesterday that it made it quite difficult for any containment to occur," Mr Heagerty told AAP.</p> <p>He said it appears the fire had spread from public land to private property near the Wimmera River, close to the Dimboola Golf Course.</p> <p>It's believed most residents had evacuated to Horsham while it was still safe and it's not yet known if any homes were lost.</p> <p>"Assessments for property impacts will start today once there's some better light in the area and it's safe for our crews to do so, because they still need to make sure that it's safe even for our crews to get in there and have a look at the impacts of the fire," he said.</p> <p>An additional 25 fire trucks were sent to attack that fire, with embers sparking small blazes ahead of the main blaze.</p> <p>A second emergency warning has been issued for Strachans, Victoria Point and Victoria Valley in the Grampians National Park.</p> <p>That blaze is about 180 hectares, in an area that has a mix of private property and campsites.</p> <p>The area was not impacted by fires at the Grampians earlier this summer, with holidaymakers and residents now told to evacuate while it's still safe to do so.</p> <p>People in the path of fires have been told to take medications and pets, while those travelling in the area are urged to turn on their headlights to help navigate through smoke.</p> <p>Mr Heagerty said it's expected crews would be battling the fires for several weeks and authorities are concerned there may be other fires they do not yet know about.</p> <p>"We can also have scenarios where dry lightning starts a fire in a tree stump, for example, it might not show up for another week or two," he said.</p> <p>"We're probably expecting that we're going to be fairly busy out of what we saw moved through the state yesterday."</p> <p>A cool change has swept through Victoria after Monday's dry, gusty conditions however Mr Heagerty said crews are still expecting "variable" conditions for the rest of Tuesday.</p> <p>Fires have been burning across the Grampians region since mid-December.</p> </body>