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MELBOURNE - A cool change is not expected to lessen the danger from bushfires in north-eastern Victoria today.
Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) state duty officer Mark Woodman said extreme fire conditions were still expected in the region today, where a total fire ban has been declared.
Temperatures reached the high 30s and low 40s in many parts of the state yesterday, accompanied by a strong northerly breeze, but there were few new fire outbreaks.
A southerly change has now passed across the state.
DSE and Country Fire Authority crews worked together to quell a new bushfire at Elmhurst, near Ararat in western Victoria.
The fire has burned about 300 hectares but is no longer threatening the township, Mr Woodman said.
Today's total fire ban affects Victoria's north-east, including the cities of Shepparton, Wangaratta and Wodonga and areas blackened by the Tatong and Great Divide North fires.
Mr Woodman said weather conditions predicted for the region were unusual.
"The weather is actually a bit strange because the weather is quite warm -- mid 30s in Wodonga and Wangaratta -- but the winds are basically westerly to southerlies," he told AAP.
"Normally those conditions would be quite benign but the air is quite dry and it's hot."
Despite the risk, fire crews were in a much better position to fight new fires than they were at the height of the bushfire crisis last month.
"Because those Great Divide fires are calming down, a lot of our resources are now dispersed across the state and are much more ready to deal with any new fires," he said.
Throughout the north-eastern district, no fires may be lit in the open air until midnight tonight (AEDT).
The Country Fire Authority (CFA) has advised people living in areas at risk of fire to activate their bushfire plans.
- AAP
