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MELBOURNE - Towns in north-east Victoria and Gippsland have been put on high alert because of a bushfire threat rated as one of the worst the state has ever faced.
The threat comes from separate bushfires that are starting to converge, creating monster blazes.
About 2000 firefighters equipped with bulldozers and aircraft are attempting to contain up to 50 fires that have charred some 90,000ha.
Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) spokesman Kevin Monk said fires had remained active overnight, but some containment lines had broken with several blazes linking up.
"The number (of fires) will reduce, but the size of the individual fires will increase," he said today.
Premier Steve Bracks has warned the threat to towns will escalate over the weekend.
"It's going to be one of our most difficult fire weekends ever in the history of this state," he said yesterday.
Mr Monk said the fires would continue to burn in an easterly direction with fire crews focused on protecting property and life.
The winds are expected to push flames and smoke towards at-risk areas, including King Valley, Rose River, Upper Buckland Valley, Tolmie and between Jamieson and Woods Point.
Residents in and around Licola, Dargo, Cobbannah, Walhalla, Glenmaggie, Briagolong, Bairnsdale, Heyfield, Maffra, Stradbroke, Rosedale and the eastern Stzeleckis have been warned they could be threatened by the fires.
The largest is in the Heyfield district, east of Howitt Plains, which has scorched almost 27,000ha of national parkland.
Mr Monk said there had been no further reports of property damage overnight, although a plantation had burnt near the Black Range fire.
A deployment of 40 firefighters from New Zealand is expected this evening to support the firefighting effort.
Winds are forecast to swing to the north tomorrow, pushing the fire south before extreme temperatures hit at the weekend.
The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast temperatures will reach 37 degrees on Saturday in the areas where the fires are raging.
It has been estimated the major clusters of fires could blacken up to 600,000ha by the weekend.
Community meetings will be held today in affected townships to advise on preparing for bushfire survival.
- AAP
