Fuel shortages and long queues are hampering efforts to escape bushfire-hit areas of NSW and Victoria.
Victorian authorities have urged tourists and locals to leave the state’s alpine and East Gippsland regions on Thursday.
In NSW, people near Batlow have been asked to leave on Thursday while holiday-makers in the alps and between Nowra and the Victorian border should be out by Friday afternoon.
While supplies are high in most communities, stations in Ulladulla, Moruya and Corryong ran dry by 6pm while others restricted purchases to guarantee enough remained for firefighters.
Restocking tanks is also an issue, with emergency services due to escort petrol tankers into Moruya on Thursday night.
A 50-litre limit per person was imposed at one Moruya petrol station after it sold double its January average within 12 hours and faced a line of vehicles stretching more than a kilometre.
It was among two Moruya stations to run dry, while certain fuels were exhausted at sites in Merimbula, Mallacoota, Lakes Entrance and Bairnsdale.
Deliveries have been made to key centres Batemans Bay and Eden, where demand remains high.
BP said the safety of its employees and customers was a priority as it tried to maintain the supply of fuel to bushfires-affected communities.
Caltex said it was doing what it could to deliver more fuel to bushfire-affected areas.
“We thank our customers for their patience as we manage the increased demand at this difficult time,” Caltex spokesman Richard Baker said in a statement.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Thursday said she was relieved that power and other services had been restored to some towns.
“We encourage people to exercise caution (driving out),” she told reporters on Thursday.
“We do appreciate that for some, it is difficult to access supplies but it’s much easier than what it was yesterday and the day before.”
Almost 9000 homes and businesses remain without power in bushfire-affected NSW and Victorian communities. The number was as high as 50,000 on Wednesday.
Extracted from 9News