The CFS has warned that South Australia’s fire danger will peak tomorrow, as Adelaide remained on track to have its hottest day on record.
Country Fire Service chief Greg Nettleton says tomorrow will see the state hit by the triple threat of extremely high temperatures, rising winds and thunderstorms.
Adelaide is on track today to experience a temperature record, with 46C forecast, very close to the 46.1C in 1939.
The mercury is still rising this afternoon: at 3pm, the Bureau of Meteorology recorded Adelaide’s temperature as 44.2C.
The northern suburbs have been getting an even fiercer bake, with Roseworthy hitting 46.4C at 1.58.
Health and emergency authorities are warning South Australians to be vigilant about their health and others. Public institutions – such as the SA Museum, the city library and the bus depot – and shopping centres are welcoming people who need to escape the heat.
Health SA said today 43 people went to hospital in Adelaide yesterday suffering from heat-related conditions, and there were 16 admissions in country SA due to the heatwave. So far this week 129 people have been treated at SA’s hospitals due to the heat.
CFS chief officer Greg Nettleton says a number of fires are already burning and CFS crews are bracing for changing conditions as a wind shift and eventually a cooler changes sweep across the state, breaking a five-day heatwave.
“We go into an escalating fire pattern over the next 48 hours,” he said.
“Tomorrow is the most concerning day of this heatwave.
“We’ve been looking at Friday as probably our most dangerous because it’s a day of change.
“The issue tomorrow is wind. That causes fires to spread rapidly.”
For updates, including emergency warnings, go to the CFS website.
The CFS says it has battled more than 400 fires over the past three days and many of those were sparked by thousands of lightning strikes on Tuesday.
– with AAP
