Days-long bushfires in Australia’s Victoria state have razed homes, authorities said on Sunday, warning “extreme” heat could fan the wildfires later this week.

“That is very sobering news for those families,” Victoria Premier Jacinta Allan told reporters, saying six homes had been confirmed destroyed.

The emergency has killed livestock, destroyed properties and forced more than 2000 people to leave western towns and head to the city of Ballarat, 95km west of the state capital Melbourne.

Australia is in the grips of an El Niño weather pattern, which is typically associated with extreme phenomena such as wildfires, cyclones and droughts.

More than 15 bushfires were burning in Victoria on Sunday, with the most serious blaze, ranked at the second highest danger rating, near several remote towns, according to the state’s emergency authority.

Allan said there were “concerns about the weather this week particularly Wednesday into Thursday”.

“What we know already is the indicators are in the extreme range,” she said, adding that emergency authorities would meet on Sunday to plan for the week ahead.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pledged on Sunday to provide whatever support was needed to assist Victoria state in a days-long wildfire emergency that has razed homes after authorities warned extreme heat could fan the blazes this week.

“We will provide whatever support is requested from Victoria,” Albanese told reporters in the city of Frankston, Victoria.

“It’s a reminder of the need for us to be vigilant for us to continue to work and act on the threat that is climate change.”About 1000 firefighters supported by more than 50 aircraft have battled the fires since they started.

The last two bushfire seasons in Australia have been subdued compared with the 2019-2020 ‘Black Summer’, when bushfires killed 33 people and 3 billion animals.

– Reuters