Twelve homes have been confirmed destroyed as a major bushfire continues to burn through the Adelaide Hills.
Extreme conditions ... firefighters battle a blaze in Kersbrook, South Australia as the state faces its worse fire conditions since Ash Wednesday in 1983. Picture: Campbell Brodie. Source: Supplied
TWO people are feared missing as a major bushfire continues to burn freely in the Adelaide Hills.
Police say they are investigating reports that two elderly people have not been accounted for.
They were identified only as a man from Kersbrook and a woman from Cudlee Creek.
Police Commissioner Gary Burns said he had no information on the circumstances or whether other family members had raised concerns. He said patrols were on their way to those two areas to continue investigations.
Police have also revealed that one person has been arrested for repeatedly trying to access the fire zone at a control point. Many roads into the fire zone remain closed as efforts to bring it under control continue.
Aerial assault ... Planes were able to fight the blaze from above today as weather conditions eased slightly. Source: News Corp Australia
Tenant denies sparking fire:
Meanwhile, the tenant on a property where the Sampson Flat bushfire was sparked in the Adelaide Hills has rejected suggestions an incinerator was the cause of the blaze.
The man says he is devastated that people have lost their homes but says the fire broke out at the rear of a shed and got out of control because of poor vegetation management on the property before he took up residence.
"We have been here four months and we have never even used the incinerator since we have been here," the man told theSunday Mail on the condition of anonymity.
Warm and windy ... The temperature has cooled a couple of degrees today, but firies are still battling tough conditions. Source: News Corp Australia
But police say the cause of the blaze is still being investigated and the incinerator remains part of inquiries by detectives.
"We're looking at the incinerator, how it ignited in the incinerator is another aspect that we're looking at," Police Commissioner Gary Burns said on Sunday.
"Detectives are talking with the home owners and obviously there will be forensic evidence that they will be looking at." Mr Burns said there were a whole range of charges that were possible in relation to fires that were lit where bans were in force.
"Lighting fires on banned days is an offence in itself," he said.
The Sampson Flat fire continues to burn out of control on several fronts today although the Country Fire Service downgraded its warning to a watch and act advice.
Devastating path ... The fire burning through Forreston today. Source: News Corp Australia
A dozen homes destroyed:
The bushfire has destroyed 12 homes and there are fears for 20 others, Premier Jay Weatherill has confirmed.
"This is obviously enormously distressing to the people concerned," the Premier said.
"We'll make every effort to contact those people.
"We will be reopening areas once it's safe to do so, however there remains serious risks associated with falling trees and falling power lines."
Temperatures in the fire zone are forecast to be cooler today, with a top of 31 degrees tipped for Adelaide.
The Sampson Flat fire has been downgraded from the highest emergency level to a watch-and-act message but the blaze is still burning on several fronts.
Charred remains ... A car burntout on Airstrip Road, Sampson Flat. Pic: Tait Schmaal Source: News Corp Australia
The Country Fire Service says 22 firefighters have been injured in the blaze, though none seriously, and one fire truck destroyed in the worst conditions since Ash Wednesday in 1983.
With hot and windy conditions easing on today, the CFS will focus on containing the perimeter of the fire and clearing roads to allow people to return to their homes.
Police Commissioner Gary Burns said police were aiming to return some residents this morning.
But he said police would not be rushed and safety would be the highest priority.
"The aim for us is to return people as quickly as possible," he said.
"When people turn up to our control points, we'd ask them to have a little bit of patience."
Horrid conditions ... South Australia is bracing for the worst fire conditions since the 1983 Ash Wednesday disaster. Picture: ABC TV/Twitter Source: Supplied
Meanwhile, cooler conditions are expected to help firefighters contain blazes in Victoria's west.
Temperatures are not expected to exceed 30C near Hastings and Moyston on Sunday.
Firefighters worked throughout the night to contain fires in Dimboola and Cherrypool as blazes raged in two national parks. Crews have battled in the Moyston and surrounding areas since Friday.
They were able to stop the spread of fire in Hastings late on Saturday evening.
One home has been confirmed destroyed, and others damaged by fire.
More than 300 volunteer firefighters from New South Wales will now be sent to South Australia and Victoria to assist.
Sad loss of animal life:
About 40 dogs and cats have perished after a bushfire destroyed large parts of a boarding kennel and cattery in the Adelaide foothills.
Few survivors ... Paracombe and Tea Tree Gully CFS rescue a dog from the Tea Tree Gully Boarding Kennel and Cattery, where 40 animals perished. Picture: Dylan Coker Source: News Corp Australia
Fire ripped through the Tea Tree Gully Boarding Kennels and Cattery on Saturday morning, burning down the cattery and a large section of the kennels.
All of the cats and about a third of the dogs at the kennels were killed.
Extreme conditions hit South Australia:
Local volunteer firefighters put out a fire near property at risk on Stone Quarry Road, Kersbrook South Australia. Picture: Tom Huntley. Source: News Corp Australia
Authorities are in a race against time to bring the Sampson Flat fire under control before temperatures soar into the high 30s later this week.
A cool change today is expected to help them work to contain the fire ahead of a forecast rise in temperatures again on Wednesday.
The weather is cooler and the conditions will permit aerial firefighting.
READER PICTURES: Fearsome SA fires captured in remarkable photos
One person who was believed to have been missing after seeking refuge in a dam near Mt Gawler Forest was found safe yesterday.
Emergency effort ... crews battle a fire in Hastings. Picture: Susan Windmiller Source: News Corp Australia
That rare piece of good news came as hundreds of firefighters fought the blaze in extreme conditions, with high temperatures and strong winds proving trying.
Firefighters from the neighbouring states of Victoria and New South Wales were joining their South Australian counterparts today, taking the total number of crew battling the blaze to more than 800.
BUILDINGS LOST: Huge bushfire destroys homes in Adelaide Hills as CFS warns of catastrophic fire danger
The largest fire in the Adelaide Hills has ripped through an estimated 11,000 hectares of land and is likely to move northeast, but all of its edges remain active and there are unpredictable wind gusts.
Significant blaze ... reader Tori Arbon took this photo in Hillier, South Australia of the huge plume of smoke from a major bushfire. Source: Supplied
The CFS advises that fires burning under these conditions are likely to be fast-moving and uncontrollable.
View of the deadly Sampson Flat fire from Range Road. Picture: Tom Huntley Source: News Corp Australia
Winds of 100 to 120 kilometres per hour were seen in some parts of the state yesterday.
Ferocious and unpredictable blaze:
The fire — which started on Friday afternoon at Sampson Flat — wreaked havoc as it spread towards Kersbrook before swinging back towards One Tree Hill, Greenwith and Golden Grove.
Co-ordinator Brenton Eden said the fire continued to present challenges as the day unfolded, with winds shifting and more hot temperatures expected.
Huge scale ... an aerial view of the out-of-control Sampson Flat fire near Kersbrook. Picture Dylan Coker Source: News Corp Australia
"Conditions will worsen, they will not get better,'' he said.
A wind change from an easterly to northerly direction has caused the fire to burn in numerous directions, causing smoke to blanket large parts of metropolitan Adelaide.
The CFS said the Sampson Flat fire was "travelling in a very erratic manner".
Weather change eases Victoria fires:
A weather change has brought welcome rain but also new problems for firefighters battling blazes in Victoria.
More than a dozen fires burnt across the state on Saturday with separate major warnings issued for areas around Moyston, Dimboola, Edenhope and Cherrypool in the west, while a threatening blaze ignited southeast of Melbourne in Hastings late in the day.
The storm band, which crossed the state from west to east, damped down the major Moyston fire on Saturday afternoon after it had burned mostly out of control since midday Friday.
The fire, which has razed almost 5000 hectares in Victoria's west, was burning within containment lines early on Saturday evening and authorities have downgraded a warning to say the immediate threat to homes has subsided.
"The good news is the front has brought some moisture with it, particularly over the western parts of the state where we had that serious fire at Moyston," State Control Centre spokesman Gerard Scholten said.
URGENT FIGHT: Battle to save homes as fires rage through Victoria
"The rain has brought some relief. However, the bad news is the wind change has caused some serious problems down at Hastings and Crib Point."
Moyston fires ... local farmer Phillip Grellet surveys the burnt-out land while helping a fellow farmer as a fire still burns in the background. Picture: David Caird Source: News Corp Australia
The Hastings fire, a grass fire which started just after 2pm on Saturday, was burning in a southerly direction down the coastline before the front reached the Melbourne area.
The fire turned easterly after the wind change, burning in the direction of suburban homes.
The popular holiday spot was evacuated, triggering traffic chaos, though the fire was contained before it could cause major damage.
Lightning strikes from the storm front also triggered a batch of new fires in the state's west late on Saturday, and there are "watch and act" recommendations for towns including Dimboola and Edenhope.
One home, four sheds and an unknown amount of livestock were lost in the Moyston fire, which also posed a threat to the nearby township of Maroona before it was contained.
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