Key events33m agoPower outages ‘could last weeks’1h agoPower outage ‘one of the largest’ to hit Victoria1h agoAn estimated 260,000 homes still without power2h agoWelcomeFilters BETAKey events (4)Victoria (9)Aemo (4)Melbourne (4)Powercor (3)CFA (3)12m ago17.28 EST
Wantirna without power and mobile coverage
A caller to 3AW radio from Wantirna said the town had been without electricity since 2pm yesterday, and there was no mobile phone connectivity.
He said the town appeared to be an “epicentre” of lost connection:
We’ve got nothing.
According to Optus, one of its mobile towers “isn’t working” in the Wantirna area. And according to Telstra’s outage map, there are 4G and 5G outages in the area.
Updated at 17.34 EST18m ago17.22 EST
Calla Wahlquist
Schools near fire closed today
Three primary school campuses near an out-of-control fire that started at Newtown, west of Ballarat, yesterday have been closed to students today.
The Scarsdale, Smythesdale and Ross Creek campuses of the Woady Yaloak primary school will be closed on Wednesday, principal Corey Pohlner told parents and carers last night. The Snake Valley campus will remain open.
The fire started at Newtown and spread into the Ross Creek state forest. It’s now listed as an advice level, meaning there is no current threat to communities or properties.
Updated at 17.32 EST21m ago17.20 EST
SES crews assessing Pomonal fire
James Todd from the SES control centre just provided an update to 3AW radio.
He said the service had now received more than 3,000 calls for assistance as people begin to wake up and assess the damage to their properties.
He said it “could be weeks for some areas” before power is reconnected:
Because of the widespread impact on the electricity network including some of those high-voltage powers coming down … it could be some time before some parts of the state are connected again … It could be weeks for some areas.
Todd said he didn’t know the specifics about impacts to mobile phone connectivity but “can only assume the towers themselves have been impacted”.
Like others have said today he was aware of reported house losses in the Pomonal area but said there weren’t any figures yet:
This morning there are crews on the ground, as well as fighting the fire there will be other agency folk assessing the impacts.
Updated at 17.31 EST29m ago17.11 EST
CFA on fire danger
A moderate fire danger rating is in place for all of Victoria today, except for the Wimmera region, which has a high fire danger rating.
According to the CFA there are no total fire bans in place today.
A moderate fire danger rating is in place for all of Victoria today except Wimmera, which has a high fire rating.
Via the @CFA_Updates pic.twitter.com/ruAsTo2lfd
— Emily Wind (@emilywindwrites) February 13, 2024Updated at 17.29 EST33m ago17.07 ESTPower outages ‘could last weeks’
Let’s revisit a statement from the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action.
Last night the…
2024-02-13 17:25:21
Link from www.theguardian.com
