New fire warnings as state gears for heatwave

Temperatures are set to climb into the 40s in parts of Victoria on Friday and remain there until Tuesday, according to current forecasts, and Country Fire Authority state duty officer Stephen Wells says Saturday and Monday are of most concern.

Today, fire danger ratings for Saturday and Sunday were upgraded to "very high" or "severe" all over Victoria, except in East Gippsland.

Mr Wells is most concerned by freshening winds and the prospect of lightning on Saturday, and strong winds and hot conditions on Monday, when the mercury is expected to hit 44 in Mildura and Horsham and 38 in Melbourne.

“Some parts of the state have been dampened, but it is by no means universal”, he said, pointing out that parts of the state had already had significant bushfire activity.

“The fire danger will increase in the next week.

“We are very keen to make people understand that just because we have had rain, we are not complacent, because we have had so many years of below average rainfalls. We would need above average rainfalls for a long time to moisten forests enough (to ease the fires threat)."

Mr Wells said many Victorians still thought that in the event of a fire they would get "a fire truck at the door", a prospect he said was “highly unlikely".

Individuals and families must take responsibility for their own fire plans and preparations, he said.

“There is no way we can provide personal messages to everyone . . . people still need to decide what to do in the event of a fire,” he said.

"On a hot, dry day, people tend to bunker down, turn on the air conditioning and close the windows, but they need to look around and be aware of what is going on around them.”

He said at recent fires he had noticed members of the public still dressed inappropriately in thongs and shorts.

Many families new to rural areas, so-called "tree-changers" often had no life experience to equip them for bushfires. They need to actively engage in their communities to understand what is required.

“The fire services are in a partnership with the community. Everyone’s circumstances are different, they have to make individual decisions," Mr Wells said

“All we can do is provide the information so people can make the right decisions.”

Police are urging residents to remain vigilant, focusing on the dangers of arson.

Uniform and plain clothes police, working closely with the CFA, DSE and Parks Victoria will “regularly patrol high risk areas”.

Victoria Police East Region Emergency Response Coordinator, Superintendent Fred Johansen, is urging the community to be their “eyes and ears”.

"Don't wait to see smoke, act now and report suspicious activity," he said.

"People have an obligation to themselves and the community to come forward if they see anything, no matter how small the detail, because it could make all the difference.

"People acting strangely, anything that just doesn't seem right should be reported. It might be a member of your family, a friend or a colleague and often these people need help."

At Wodonga, firefighters say it is unknown how a small grass fire at Les Stone Park ignited yesterday just before 4pm.

CFA fire officer Adrian Gutsche said there had been several small grass fires around the district in the past week, which police are investigating.

“We were lucky with this one, there was not much fuel around because it was bordered by green grass,” he said.

“We were on the scene quickly and were able to put it out within minutes.”

Mr Gutsche said authorities were calling for information about the fire.

The resident who reported the fire, which burnt about 10sqm, did not see how it had started.

Meanwhile, tankers from Region 24 attended a small wildfire at Tintaldra on Wermatong Hill just after 4pm yesterday that was contained a short time later and burnt around 2ha.