An Emergency Warning to seek shelter indoors has been issued for residents north of Melbourne as a grassfire burns out of control.
The warning has been issued for Beveridge, Bolinda, Clarkefield, Darraweit Guim, Mickleham, Oaklands Junction, Sunbury and Wildwood.
There is a grassfire at Clarkefield that is not yet under control and firefighters have been unable to stop its spread.
The fire is travelling in an easterly direction towards Boggy Gate Road.
Residents surrounding the area are being advised to monitor conditions and stay vigilant, with a Watch and Act warning current.
An Emergency Warning to seek shelter as of 2:25pm. (Supplied: VicEmergency)
Another Watch and Act warning in the state’s west, for resident in Mount Mercer, near Merrideth, has been downgraded to an Advice-level warning.
Authorities said a grassfire was travelling from Grahams Road and Gumley Road in a easterly direction towards Shelford-Mt Mercer Road.
Macedon Ranges Mayor, Kate Kendall, told ABC Radio Melbourne the location where the fire started was not very populated, but locals were acting swiftly.
“I’ve had updates and people have already started to move their livestock out and things like that,” she said.
“At the moment it seems it is spreading and I believe there’s 54 vehicles responding.”
Councillor Jarrod Bell from neighbouring Hume City Council said there were lots of hobby farms in the area.
“It’s moving through what is known as our ‘green wedge zone’ in Hume that splits the two urban centres of Sunbury and Craigieburn,” he said.
“There’s still a bit of distance to go before it gets properly close to dense housing in our part of the world.”
He said the area had not had much rainfall in recent times.
“Other than a couple of days ago, the last time we had rain was about a month and a half ago and it is incredibly dry,” he said.
Residents evacuate while others stay
Faye Ridis, who owns the Mickleham Lodge, where she breeds dogs and operates a greyhound rehoming program, said it had started raining there which she was hopeful would help.
“Over at the Oaklands estate I can see flames quite high there in one spot,” she said.
She said she received a message from the CFA before calling friends to help her evacuate all the dogs on her property.
“We’ve got a van with cages, a proper set up for dogs and a dog trailer … we’ve also got a cattle trailer so all that got loaded,” she said.
“I’ve chosen to stay because I’ve got three litters of pups in the welcome room that can’t be moved.”
Andrew, who has two farms in Clarkfield, told ABC Radio Melbourne he was helping fire authorities with his excavator.
“It’s pretty hairy at the moment, it is all the way around us … it’s literally everywhere I look,” he said.
“It blew through but now the wind has changed and it’s coming back on us.”
The weather bureau had warned hot, north-westerly winds coupled with the driest start to the year since 2009 would elevate the fire danger risk across the state today.
“It’s the hot north-westerly winds in combination with the parched landscape that’s elevating the fire danger risk across Victoria,” Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) senior meteorologist Kevin Parkyn said on Tuesday.
Authorities had warned some parts of the state would experience extreme fire danger, with strong winds and dry conditions.
A total fire ban was declared for much of the state, extending across all districts except the South West and East Gippsland.
Temperatures were forecast to reach 32 degree Celsius in Melbourne and 40C in Mildura.
A number of bushfires that destroyed homes and threatened communities across the state in January continue to burn, including the Carlisle River fire in the Otways, the Longwood blaze in central Victoria and Walwa fire in the north-east.