A CODE Red bushfire warning is in place for parts of South Australia and Victoria today, where total fire bans are in place as rural areas face some of the worst conditions seen since Black Saturday.
The catastrophic fire danger rating is in place for Victoria's Wimmera districts and SA's eastern and lower Eyre Peninsula, the Mid North, the Yorke Peninsula, the Murraylands, Upper and Lower South East, Kangaroo Island and Mount Lofty Ranges.
Extreme fire danger ratings are also in place for the NSW South West and Riverina, Victoria's Mallee, Western Districts, and the North and and South Central regions, as well as SA's Flinders, Riverland, and Adelaide Metropolitan areas.
Temperatures are set to hit 44 degrees in these areas and strong northerly winds are expected.
In Victoria holiday makers and residents have been warned to leave the Wimmera today, as the region braces for a Code Red day - the first catastrophic fire danger day in Victoria.
Under a Code Red fire warning, residents in bushfire-prone areas are advised to leave the night before, or early in the morning.
Rangers were closing state parks and forests and ushering campers out of the Grampians, Little Desert and Wyperfeld national parks. ''This is about protecting lives and taking action,'' Country Fire Authority chief officer Russell Rees said.
''We want everyone to understand that you do not wait around for a fire and then get on the road. Being on the road during a fire is the most dangerous place to be.''
Department of Sustainability and Environment chief fire officer Ewan Waller warned Victorians not to bushwalk or travel through the bush today.
It was highly likely North East Victoria would reach Code Red conditions tomorrow.
Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Simon Overland said deaths could be expected as a result of extreme weather, and the elderly and very young should stay out of the heat and drink plenty of fluids.
''Personal responsibility has to be the key part of the process. People need to be thinking about what they need to be doing and keep themselves and their loved ones safe,'' he said.
SA Minister for Emergency Services Michael Wright said rural residents should be prepared to evacuate early.
"It’s critical that people activate their bushfire survival plan, that they prepare early and that those people in
catastrophic and extreme fire danger districts who plan to relocate, relocate early," he said.
Residents in fire-prone can keep up to date at: the Victorian CFA website; the SA CFS website; and the NSW RFS website.
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