Key Points
- Residents in western Victoria have been advised to evacuate or shelter in place as bushfires approach.
- Approximately 22,000 hectares of land had been burned as of Wednesday.
- There has been an alert-level downgrade after a grassfire in Dereel was brought under control Thursday morning.
Victorians have sweltered through a tense night as bushfires threatened to destroy lives and homes.
An emergency warning instructed residents of Dereel, Corindhap and Rokewood Junction south of Ballarat to shelter indoors on Wednesday night after an anxious day of fire danger.
A watch and act message encompassed the nearby areas of Enfield, Rokewood and Mount Mercer, telling residents there to evacuate.
The alerts were downgraded on Thursday morning as the grassfire that started in Dereel was brought under control.
Authorities said firefighters had been able to contain the spread of the blaze but warned that this could change at any time.
The fire danger rating in the nearby Wimmera region was catastrophic on Wednesday and State Control Centre spokesperson Luke Hegarty warned Victoria was not out of the woods.
Authorities were waiting to see how the Bayindeen bushfire northwest of Ballarat developed on Thursday after crews built containment lines around its 157km perimeter.
"(We've had) some reports of trees within the burnt area putting up a bit of smoke," Hegarty said.
"It seems to have held pretty well and stayed within the existing burnt area."
The bushfire had burned through about 22,000 hectares of land as of Wednesday.
Members of Forest Fire Management Victoria at the Bayindeen-Rocky Road fire northwest of Ballarat, Victoria. Credit: Forest Fire Management Victoria
Spot fires had sprung up close to or within the already burned area, letting close-by ground crews and aircraft quickly tackle them, he said.
Many in the fire danger zones heeded warnings and left by Wednesday morning but some residents stayed to defend their properties.
Cooler temperatures were expected on Thursday following a cool change after Mildura on Wednesday reached the mid-40Cs.
Horsham was among areas in the 30Cs and recorded a wind gust of 96km/h after 5pm on Wednesday.
Hegarty said conditions would remain dry after the cool change.
"Although summer is coming to an end on paper ... there's still some potential left in the season (for further bushfires)," he said.
As of Wednesday, six homes, 84 sheep and two beef cattle were lost to the Bayindeen blaze.
Residents of several areas were warned it was not safe to return.
