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A deliberately lit fire in which a man was killed and seven houses destroyed in Victoria's east caught residents by surprise, a local mayor says.
Wellington Shire Mayor Beth Ripper said residents had been preparing for a fire coming from the north and threatening the townships of Seaton and Toongabbie.
But the fire was deliberately lit at Coopers Creek and rapidly spread through grass from the southwest.
"Everyone was expecting the fire to come over the hill from the north but it came from the southwest," she said. "It was frightening; so it's not surprising that the community's a bit freaked and bizarre things like that [death] might happen."
A 48-year-old man fighting the bushfires on private property was killed when he fell from the back of a truck and was struck by a truck travelling behind.
Seaton resident Peter Coleman said the fire came within 700m of his home. "I was at the house ready to defend our property and we had a spot start in the paddock," he said.
"The saving grace was the choppers dropping water."
In Tasmania, firefighters worked to protect threatened properties on Tasmania's east coast, with no significant relief in sight.
Bushfires destroyed another two houses, and a beachside hamlet was cut off by a blaze at St Mary's, which has blackened about 17,500ha.
- AAP
