Fire crews on standby as wind gusts top 100kph Posted 18 minutes ago Updated 17 minutes ago
abc news Authorities are concerned the windy conditions could push four existing big fires to the north and east of Melbourne over containment lines.
Winds have been gusting up to 124 kilometres an hour in some mountain areas, while rain has failed to dampen firefighters' concerns about extreme fire danger across Victoria.
A total fire ban remains in place across the state today.
The Department of Sustainability and Environment's (DSE) Kevin Monk says firefighters are preparing for the worst.
"About 2,500 firefighters and aircraft and vehicles etc, are committed to those four fires and then across the state we've got thousands of other firefighters, volunteers and permanent firefighters strategically placed across the state," he said.
The DSE's Ian Mansergh says small amounts of rain have not eased the fire threat and may cause problems.
"A small amount of rain may create slippery conditions on bushtracks where the firefighters are working," he said.
High wind speeds and a west to south-westerly change, expected to hit south-west Victoria about midday, remain the big threat to firefighters.
Senior forecaster at the weather bureau, Terry Ryan, says rainfalls of one to two millimetres have been accompanied by strong winds.
"The satellite photo looks quite active so there is bands coming towards, moving quite quickly, but there's going to be further rain about today and when the front gets closer, there's a chance of thunderstorms and showers around later this afternoon as well," he said.
The bureau's Stuart Coombs says the high temperatures forecast for today have been revised down to around 26 degrees.
He says once the cold front goes through this afternoon, conditions will start to ease.
The DSE's Denis Ward says a fire in difficult country near Lake Eildon, north-east of Melbourne, is causing the biggest concern.
"The winds on that north-east corner of the fire will probably start to pick up around 10 o'clock this morning but really strengthen and be at their peak potentially about midday," he said.
Victorian Premier John Brumby says today's fire threat should not be underestimated.
"We are going to see fire danger ratings across the state a little bit lower than we thought last night, but they are still up to 150," he said.
"And remember this is a rating that goes from zero to 100, and probably in the last five years in Victoria we've only had three days where they've been above 100."
Authorities say people who have chosen to stay at home in high risk areas should be well prepared for fire.
Thousands of households in central Ballarat are without power.
It is believed the outage was caused by lightning and more than 2,200 homes are affected.
Four fires are still burning, with the Kilmore East-Murrindindi blaze causing the most concern.
The four fires are not posing a direct threat to private properties this morning.
Fire crews are working on containment lines at the blazes near Healesville, Tonimbuk, Murrindindi and at Wilsons Promontory.
Schools closed
Around 400 state and private schools, kindergartens and childcare centres are closed today due to the bushfire threat.
Each of the affected schools contacted parents and told them not to send students.
All state school camps have been cancelled for the week.
