SYDNEY (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of residents across Australia's Victoria state remained without power on Wednesday after wild weather knocked down transmission lines, forcing a major power plant to disconnect from the grid, while strong winds fanned bushfires.
AGL's Loy Yang A power station, responsible for about a third of the state's power, had to shut down on Tuesday afternoon impacting half a million properties, which officials said was one of the largest outages in Victoria's history.
More than 280,000 homes or businesses were still without power as of Wednesday morning, with at least 10 schools and dozens of childcare centres closed, authorities said. Mobile phone and telecommunication lines were also down in some areas.
Parts of Melbourne were also severely hit, with Federal Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil saying some suburbs in her electorate of Hotham suffered widespread damage.
"We've got houses in our street which have just been completely smashed by trees. There are cars that have been destroyed," O'Neil said in a video posted on X, formerly Twitter.
Five firefighters received minor burns after becoming trapped while trying to douse bushfires ignited by lightning strikes during the storm near the Grampians National Park in Victoria's west, said Jason Heffernan, chief officer at Victoria state's fire department.
"Certainly a close call for the crew that got entrapped. Such were the conditions yesterday, the heat, the wind and the fire intensity," Heffernan told ABC television.
Some properties were completely destroyed by fire with the exact number to be confirmed after fire crews finish their rescue efforts.
Firefighters are battling to contain three bushfires, but better weather conditions could help crews to contain the fires quickly, Heffernan said.
Australia's weather bureau forecast milder conditions on Wednesday with temperatures in the low to mid-20 degree Celsius (68°F) and moderate winds, but warned the risk was not over yet.
(Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
