Around 100,000 people were urged to flee five Melbourne suburbs on Monday evening as Australia’s spiralling bushfire crisis killed a volunteer firefighter battling a separate blaze in the NSW countryside.



East Gippsland was ablaze late on Monday night as more than 30 bushfires ravaged Victoria.
Homes and lives were under threat as 13 emergency alerts were still in place for out-of-control blazes in Victoria’s far east and northeast.
A large uncontrolled fire moving from the NSW border prompted an evacuation alert for residents in Walwa.
“Firefighters have been unable to stop the fire and it has now crossed into Victoria and is moving towards Walwa, Guys Creek, Cudgewa, Burrowa Pine National Park,” the alert said.
A cool change was moving across the state, with temperatures forecast to drop to the mid-20s along with high winds and thunderstorms.
Meanwhile, a firefighter has been killed in a truck rollover near Albury in New South Wales, as out-of-control infernos threatens homes and lives in three states, with conditions set to worsen in some regions.
Severe fire danger is also forecast for Exmouth Gulf Coast and Gascoyne Coast in Western Australia today.