Communities across Victoria remain on edge as they brace for a day of extreme fire danger on Boxing Day.
Geelong is forecast to hit 39 degrees on Thursday.
Local CFA members from brigades including Little River, Ocean Grove, Bannockburn, Torquay and Teesdale have been deployed to fire the bushfire in the Grampians, which has now burnt more than 40,000 hectares.
Crews are using today’s cooler conditions to try and get on top of the bushfires.
Chief Fire Officer Chris Hardman said firefighters were carrying out a large backburning operation in the Grampians.
“That is to make sure when we get to Boxing Day, that if and the likely occurrence of that fire coming out, it will not come out as intensely as it would have done without this planned burning and backburning operations,” he said.
The CFA also urged locals and visitors to ensure they were prepared for any emergency as they head away for the Christmas break.
Locals were being encouraged to make sure they had their fire plan in place, and leave early if there was a fire near them.
