Print PageResidents in two rural farming communities in the Grampians are in for a sleepless night as winds threaten to push a blaze onto private property.
About 50 firefighters will work through the night attempting to protect homes in Glenisla and Cherrypool from the 25,000-hectare blaze which broke control lines on Thursday afternoon.
A CFA spokeswoman said the fire wasn't "raging" but the potential for winds to pick up meant the towns were under threat.
Both areas are sparsely populated farming communities.
The fire was about 10km from Cherrypool on Thursday night and the CFA warned winds up to 60km/h forecast for Friday morning could add to residents' woes.
Victoria's Fire Services Commissioner Craig Lapsley said the bushfire would be a major concern for firefighters this weekend.
"It's a very aggressive fire and the communities in that area have had fire that's come out of the bush and burnt private land," Mr Lapsley said.
"We saved houses and did extremely well with helicopters, bulldozers and firetrucks working together."
He implored people to remain fire-conscious as continued hot weather and a lack of rain meant the fire season would last into next month.
"We don't see any rain of any significance for the next two or three weeks and that means we have a fire risk that will stay all of February and into early March," Mr Lapsley said.
He said the busy fire season had been fatiguing for firefighters.
"It's a long haul," he said.
"We still want people to be focused on fire, understand what fire means, and not drop the ball at the end of the season when we've only got a few weeks to go."
