Two people have died, 13 people are in hospital, and more than a dozen houses have been destroyed by a fast-moving bushfire that swept through Roseworthy, 60km north of Adelaide, on Wednesday.
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Damage reports suggest more than 85,000 hectares of farmland and bush have been burnt by the fires, Weatherill said, with a significant livestock lost, including more than 2,000 pigs.
The Country Fire Service said the blaze continued to burn on a 40 km (24 mile) front, with a perimeter of about 211 km.
The perimeter had not expanded since midnight, but active fires continued to burn.
In an update on Thursday morning the CFS said it was hoping to have the fire declared contained in the next two or three days.
Breaking: Fire has reignited at Pinery in South Australia where yesterday’s disastrous blazes began.
“If conditions allow in the next few hours, we will attempt to actively place control lines in front of the fire line depending on the conditions and if they are favourable, we know that there will be at least three to four days ahead of us”, he said.
The confirmed casualties were a 56-year-old woman and a 69-year-old man. Their names were not released.
“Since 1am, we’ve had no growth in the fire at all”, he told ABC 891. Emergency warnings issued for residents in the area were downgraded late in the day to watch and act messages but not before two people were killed.
The CFS said other fires were also burning at Penfield, south of the Mallala blaze, near Clare, in SA’s mid-north and near Bordertown, in the southeast.
At least 16 properties have been destroyed.
“We can’t be entirely sure that we have identified every single person within the fire ground”.
Fire Crews are preparing for a long night as the fire is expected to move across the Barossa Valley.
But winds and temperatures were milder on Thursday.
The blaze has claimed several homes and properties.
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Meanwhile, a total fire ban was in place for most of Victoria on Wednesday, with hot and windy weather conditions the ideal “formula” for triggering bushfires.
