Homes and lives are under threat as a number of out-of-control bushfires rage across East Gippsland,with authorities issuing seven emergency warnings and closing part of the Princes Highway.
More than 10 bushfires are burning in East Gippsland,with five emergency warnings in place for dozens of small communities where residents are in danger.
The seven emergency warnings are for:
CFA firefighters in discussion at the staging area at the Bruthen Recreation Reserve.Alex Ellinghausen
The fires continue to rage throughout Victoria,prompting one of the largest evacuations ever.
An evacuation order remained in place on Monday for the tiny bush community of Goongerah,home to 34 households about an hour from Orbost.
The Princes Highway has been closed in both directions between Cann River and Genoa in East Gippsland due to the fire activity,with the closure under Victoria Police control.
A wind change is expected to reach the area in the early hours of Tuesday morning,which is likely to increase the fire intensity and see the blazes change direction which will mean they get bigger.
'If it gets worse we will go'
In Bruthen,which lies just south of the West Side Barmouth Spur bushfire,residents Warren and Janine Pratt were packed and ready to evacuate to Bairnsdale where their daughter lives if the fire gets any closer.
Bruthen residents Warren and Janine Pratt are staying put at their home for the moment.Alex Ellinghausen
Bruthen resident Janine Pratt hoses down her home as burnt leaves fall on the property.Alex Ellinghausen
"We’re just sitting around waiting,the smoke is picking up here but it's the wind we are worried about. This north wind could be a problem. We will just wait it out for another couple hours and if it gets worse we will go,"Mr Pratt said.
Len Hooten and his three sons were also in Bruthen,setting out sprinklers and hoses around the family house. His wife has left for Bairnsdale but they planned to stay and defend.
“It’s real windy,"Mr Hooten said."We’re just trying to set a few sprinklers up. Temperature is in the mid ‘30s,wind’s getting up. Lots of black leaves falling."
Bruthen resident Len Hooton holds up a burnt leaf blown onto his front yard.Alex Ellinghausen
Thousands of holidaymakers urged to leave
Fears that bushfires could close the Princes Highway prompted Victoria's Emergency Management Commissioner on Sunday to urge more than 30,000 holidaymakers to leave East Gippsland while there was still a road out.
Commissioner Andrew Crisp took the unusual step on Sunday of telling tourists to get out of the vast north-eastern region,faced with three out-of-control bushfires and forecasts of 40-plus degree heat with a problematic wind change and dry lightning.
Following a bushfire warning,a steady stream of traffic travels on the Great Alpine Road.
At holiday and caravan parks around Lakes Entrance,there was a mixed response to the evacuation messages.
Bill Dykes,from the Koonawarra Family Holiday Park,said on Monday they were still more than 90 per cent full.
"A lot of people think it’s quite over the top,no one wants to go,"he said.
"Everyone feels quite safe here on the water ... If I were higher up the highway I would be worried. In the bush zones,I’d worry. There’s hardly any wind and we’re halfway through the day already."
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It was the same at Woodbine Tourist Park,where a manager said only one person had said they were leaving.
However,at Metung Holiday Villas there were only about 40 people when normally there were more than 300,and at Coastal Waters Motor Inn at Lakes Entrance,Phillip Hyde said three quarters of bookings for Monday and Tuesday had been cancelled.
"Usually you couldn’t move in the town,and it was like that until yesterday,"he said.
Conditions'worst seen since Black Saturday'
Incident controller Ben Rankine,who is in charge of firefighters in East Gippsland,told ABC Radio on Monday that the conditions were the worst he had seen since Black Saturday.
He advised anyone in the region to be off the roads well before midday,when it would be too dangerous to travel.
There are about 1000 firefighters in the region,plus air crews. Containment lines have been built to the south of the Barmouth Spur fire to protect the small town of Bruthen.
CFA Fire Trucks travelled in convoy towards East Gippsland on Friday ahead of expected dangerous fire weather.CFA South East Region - ACO Trevor Owen
In Orbost,in East Gippsland,temperatures are expected to hit 42 degrees.
"That's really quite warm for Gippsland,that's normally part of the state that has a little bit of respite from the weather. It will be in the low 40s for a good part of East Gippsland,just really dry air and very strong winds,an awful mix,"Mr Heagerty said.
Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Kevin Parkyn called it a"nasty"fire weather day with hot,dry conditions,a wind change predicted before thunderstorms carrying dry lightning and potential for more fires flare-ups.
The wind change,Mr Parkyn said,would move through the south-west coast between 1pm and 2pm,Melbourne between 7pm and 8pm,and the fire grounds in East Gippsland close to midnight.
East Gippsland Shire is twice the size of Greater Melbourne and much of it is thickly forested bush land and national parks.
Further advice and updates are available at the.
With Brodie Everist and Tamara Clark