The number of homes destroyed by Victoria's devastating bushfires is almost double previous estimates with authorities now listing 1831 homes as wrecked and more than 7000 people displaced.
The bulk of the destruction, more than 1500 homes, was in the Kinglake-Yea-Murrindindi area.
Authorities also warned the 16 fires currently ablaze across Victoria could take more than two weeks to burn out and Melburnians should expect to see smoke and ash this weekend as winds blow back towards Melbourne.
But they said people should only call 000 if they see flames.
At an emergency operations briefing this morning, authorities said they would soon begin transferring the thousands of homeless from emergency accommodation to short-term accommodation, including portable housing.
Authorities are also working on a plan to return survivors to burnt-out communities, but warned that every destroyed home contained some contaminated material, including some with asbestos.
The Department of Sustainability and Environment's chief fire officer Ewan Waller said he expected the more than a dozen fires still burning in Victoria to take more than two weeks to burn out because some of the fires were in difficult terrain with plenty of fuel.
CFA deputy chief fire officer John Haynes said there were 3000 firefighters working on the 15 active fires and fire fighting experts were being flown in from New Zealand, the United States and Canada.
"There is still a threat across Victoria and there will be a threat for weeks to come," he said.
"We are still in a bushfire season,'' he said.
MFB chief fire officer Tony Murphy said Melburnians "were not immune from fires'' and people should stay vigilant.
The Department of Human Services' Craig Lapsley said 3000 immediate grants totalling $2.5 million had already been issued to bushfire victims.
Emergency Services Commissioner Bruce Esplin said Victorians should show respect to the bushfire victims and not go "sightseeing'' into bushfire-affected areas.
Fires have so far burnt 455,000 hectares.
