The bushfire threat to the Yarra Valley township of Healesville has eased.
Country Fire Authority deputy incident controller Gerry Verdoorn said the urgent threat to Healesville had now been downgraded.
Healesville residents were warned to enact their bushfire plans around 6am after a flare-up of the 26,000-hectare Maroondah-Yarra complex blaze, which on Saturday ravaged the town of Marysville.
The blaze came within three kilometres of the Yarra Valley township and ash is falling in the main street.
"The fires exceeded an initial control line but were held back by a secondary line and while it's now burning freely and it looks bad ... we have got a handle on where it is and it's not spreading towards town," he said.
Mr Verdoorn said two "Elvis-type" aircraft had been on standby but had not been required.
"There's a lot of unburnt fuel out there which flares and makes it look spectacular but the fire itself has really lessened," he said.
"At the moment there's no threat, at the moment it's quite safe for (residents) to go back to their accommodation."
Fire are still burning in the area below the Maroondah Dam and also east of Healesville at the base of Mount Riddell.
