A man has been arrested and interviewed by police over a dangerous grass fire that threatened several towns north of Melbourne.
The blaze was still burning on Wednesday afternoon, but had been brought under control.
The 71-year-old local man has been released, pending further inquiries, but the investigation into the cause of the fire continues.
It started at Flowerdale, about 90 minutes north-east of Melbourne, on Tuesday afternoon and had grown to more than 700 hectares by Wednesday.
An emergency warning was initially issued for Flowerdale residents, although it was downgraded to a watch and act message on Wednesday morning.
People in Flowerdale, Dairy Creek, Homewood, Kerrisdale and Strath Creek were told to monitor conditions and be prepared to act.
More than 50 CFA units and 10 waterbombing aircraft were battling the grassfire across steep, inaccessible terrain.
No homes have been confirmed as lost although one property was superficially damaged in the blaze, a CFA spokesman said.
Some fencing and sheds may also have been affected by the flames.
Smoke is visible across the area and an incident control centre has been set up at Alexandra. A relief centre opened at the Yea Recreation reserve on Wednesday afternoon.
A heatwave warning has been issued for Victoria and temperatures are expected to reach more than 30 degrees for the next three days. In the state’s north, they are forecast to be as high as 40 degrees.
Victorian emergency management commissioner Andrew Crisp said the days ahead would be dangerous for the state.
“There is a chance that on Friday we could see a total fire ban up in the Wimmera and there could be elevated [risk] in relation to predominantly the north-west of the state,” he said on Wednesday.
“Yesterday morning, people at Flowerdale would not have expected a fire literally at their back door … Nobody can afford to be complacent anywhere in the state over the next few days.”
-with AAP
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