State of Play as Catastrophic Fire Conditions Loom

Firefighters are focused on preventing deaths as Victoria braces to confront catastrophic conditions on Feb. 28.

Firemen return to Briagolong base camp after battling bushfires on December 10, 2006 in Melbourne, Australia. Thirty-seven bushfires, thought to have been sparked by lightning, have joined together to become 15 large fires. They have burned approximately 90,000 hectares of scrub and forest and continue to spread in the southern Australian state of Victoria. Officials predict the fires might burn out as much as 600,000 hectares by next week. Several villages and properties are under threat from the advancing fire front. The Bureau of Meteorology expects temperatures to reach over 37 degrees Celcius on Saturday in the areas affected by the fire, making fire fighting extremely difficult. Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

FIRE DANGER RATINGS

* Catastrophic fire danger rating for Wimmera district, towards Victoria’s border with South Australia, including Horsham, Stawell and Warracknabeal