Victoria bushfire crisis worsens

MELBOURNE - More than 30 towns across Victoria were under threat last night from four major bushfires as wild storms threaten to compound the crisis.

Firefighters yesterday warned they were losing the fight against the most serious blaze in the Grampians, with spot fires threatening to establish it on a new front.

Gusty northerly winds and 40degC temperatures stretched fire crews to the limit throughout the day, as some of the fires breached containment lines.

Last night, as a south-westerly change approached western Victoria, the weather bureau issued a severe weather warning for much of the state, forecasting storms with winds gusting up to 100km/h.

The recent spate of fires are the worst in Victoria since the devastating alpine bushfires in the state's north-east in 2002-03.

So far, a total of 27 homes have been lost, most of them in the Grampians, with the fires burning across almost 150,000ha.

Livestock losses are still being assessed but it's believed 20,000 sheep alone have perished.

- AAP