Australian authorities urged people in dozens of rural communities on Thursday to leave home "immediately" to escape an out-of-control bushfire tearing through a national park.
About 600 firefighters were battling the blaze in the Grampians National Park, 240 kilometers west of the city of Melbourne, a Victoria state emergency services spokesperson said.
The blaze has persisted for more than a week in hot, windy conditions, scorching 55,000 hectares -- about one-third of the park -- so far without causing deaths or destroying homes.
State emergency services warned residents to leave home immediately in more than two dozen mostly small rural communities, with populations ranging from as few as six to as many as several hundred.
People in several other communities were told to take shelter indoors because it was unsafe to leave.
Firefighters expected shifting winds to complicate their task during the day, said Victoria state control center spokesperson Luke Hegarty.
"We are reaching a critical part of the day when we see the wind change moving through the western part of the state," Hegarty said in an afternoon update.
"We're expecting strong winds and variable winds to be a concern for us over the next few hours."
A total fire ban was declared across the whole of Victoria, a state located in southeastern Australia, barring any fires in the open air.
