About 80 sheep and two cattle lost so far in Bayindeen-Rocky Road fire

But a rise in temperatures, dry wind and a drop in humidity leading into the evening have kept firefighters on high alert.

The incident controller for the Bayindeen fire Jarrod Hayse said authorities expected a westerly wind change at sunset.

"Currently we've got northerly winds and we expect that to move around to the west later on today," he said.

"So while we are experiencing rainfall right now... dry thunderstorms are probably likely as well."

Agriculture Victoria have confirmed losses of about 80 sheep and two beef cattle, but this could change once assessors can get safe access to properties.

Staff were engaging at local community meetings and supported by local members of the Victorian Farmers Federation, to further understand agricultural impacts of the fire.

"Agriculture Victoria is on the ground working with impacted communities to assess the agricultural impacts of the Bayindeen-Rocky Road fire," a spokesperson said.

"Our immediate focus is urgent animal welfare needs from fires and to support our farmers.

"If your property has been impacted by fire and you have urgent animal welfare needs, please contact the VicEmergency Hotline on 1800 226 226."

Mr Hayse said five houses have been destroyed, while one other property has been severely impacted.

A watch and act warning is still in place for those in Mainlead, Waterloo, Amphitheatre, Bayindeen, Ben Nevis, Chute, Elmhurst, Eversley, Glenlogie, Mount Cole, Mount Lonarch, and Raglan.

Residents in those areas are being told it is not safe to return.

"Because we have a large fire in the landscape, there is a real risk this fire could breach containment lines and those communities could be impacted by fire or smoke or they're cut off from essential services," Mr Hayse said.

He said the 22,000-hectare fire had a control line around its perimeter.

Crews were able to complete significant burning operations near Ben Nevis near Eversley and Elmhurst and in the east near Amphitheatre Road.

"I can report those operations... made [their] objectives overnight, and we're currently monitoring the perimeter of the fire, and we haven't seen any growth in the fire today," Mr Hayse said.

About 500 firefighters are out on the ground managing the fire, with Mr Hayes saying it is an "hour by hour proposition" and confidence was still not high that there wouldn't be any breaches of containment lines.

But Mr Hayse said crews were "really up against significant fuel, weather, and topography issues."

"We're really in a state of readiness - firefighters are blacking out the edge, water bombings are hitting the edge... but if it escapes it will be very hard to contain."

Firefighting crews from across the state are positioned to respond to fires that may begin in the Wimmera-Mallee or elsewhere.

"We've got a number of Incident Control Centres managed through our regions throughout Southwest Grampians in Lodden Valley regions that are in a heightened state of readiness," he said.

"We've got resources coming in from all around Victoria, we've got New South Wales RFS pre-positioned in the region to respond for any new [fire] starts, should that eventuate."

Mr Hayse confirmed prisoners had been evacuated from the minimum security Langi Kal Kal Prison and farming facility due to the fire risk, with minimal staff staying there.

A base camp was set up in Ballarat's Victoria Park overnight with tents for up to 300 firefighters who had come in from other areas of Victoria and interstate.

VicEmergency said people who choose to evacuate their properties should have:

The advice also said: "Before you travel, check that your planned route and destination are not currently under threat from fire. Do not travel into areas of extreme or catastrophic fire danger".

Fire danger ratings can be checked at the CFA's website.