Fresh emergency warnings for Victorians to 'take shelter now'

There are four major blazes still burning out-of-control across the state and it's now considered "too late to leave" for people near three of them.

A number of new emergency warnings have popped up overnight for multiple areas across Victoria, warning residents to "take shelter now".

There are four major blazes still burning out-of-control across the state and it's now considered "too late to leave" for people near three of them, including:

• Alpine National Park fire - Arbuckle, Billabong, Black Snake Creek, Blomford, Briagolong, Budgee Budgee, Castleburn, Cobbannah, Cowa, Crooked River, Dargo, Gibbs, Glenaladale, Grant, Hawkhurst, Hogtown, Howittville, Hunter Corner, Iguana Creek, Maguires, Miowera, Moornapa, Moroka, Naarun, Peter the Swede, Shepherdson, Talbotville, Toolome, Treasure, Treasures, Valencia Creek, Waterford, Winchester, Wongungarra, Woolenook, Wrathung.
• Longwood fire - Acheron, Limestone, Whanregarwen, Yea.
• Walwa fire - Biggara, Corryong, Cudgewa, Pine Mountain, Thowgla, Thowgla Valley, Tintaldra, Tom Groggin, Towong.

The Ravenswood South grass fire is also still out-of-control and heading in an easterly direction. This has sparked a warning to "leave immediately" for those in Elphinstone, Harcourt North, Metcalfe, Sedgwick and Sutton Grange.

LIVE UPDATES: Get all of the latest Vic Emergency warnings here

After a cool change swept across the state on Friday evening dropping temperatures, a number of blazes were downgraded in severity.

The positive news came after firefighters worked across the day to contain several emergency level bushfires.

But authorities warn the situation is still volatile and conditions can change quickly, so want people to stay prepared.

Hours after pleading with Victorians to heed warnings from emergency services, Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan doubled down on her message, while revealing her own community had been evacuated.

"I've just received another briefing by the Emergency Management Commissioner at the State Control Centre," Allan wrote on social media.

READ MORE: Small town of Ruffy unrecognisable as fire destroys homes

"So many communities across Victoria are being told to leave tonight, including mine.

"I'm thinking about my neighbours. Friends. And all families across the state facing the same decision - leaving homes they love to protect the people they love most.

"I cannot be any clearer.

"If you are told to leave - do not wait. Follow the advice. Leave now."

The Longwood fire has, as of this evening, burnt through almost 150,000 hectares and forced residents across dozens of towns to evacuate their homes.

Another major fire, the Walwa blaze, has burned through more than 100,000 hectares in the state's north-east.

A total fire ban remains in place across Victoria on Saturday, meaning no fires can be lit or be allowed to remain alight in the open air from 12.01am through until 11.59pm.

But in a glimmer of hope after the difficult conditions over the last few days, the CFA's map for Saturday shows the whole state is down to the yellow-toned "High" level.

This follows from today's red "Catastrophic" and orange "Extreme" fire danger across the state. By Sunday, the map shows shades of "Moderate" green with no total fire ban as yet declared for the end of the weekend.

Family-of-three still missing in Victorian bushfires

A family-of-three remains unaccounted for after a fire ripped through their home in the Longwood East area yesterday.

Authorities hold concerns for the man, woman and child who firefighters spoke with at their home in the morning, before crews returned in the afternoon to find the property destroyed by fire.

"Those three people, we do not know at this point in time where they may be," Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Bob Hill said this morning.

"At this point in time, I'm not suggesting we've seen three people perish, all I'm saying is these three people are unaccounted for."

Emergency services are currently unable to investigate their disappearance as the area is still a danger zone but the trio remain unaccounted for this evening.

Victoria's Emergency Management Commissioner Tim Wiebusch confirmed "community and residential" properties have been destroyed in the Longwood fire.

Many of these losses have been in and around the Ruffy area.

Wiebusch said the number of properties destroyed could not yet be confirmed, but that the Ruffy community centre and telephone exchange had been destroyed, along with multiple homes.

READ MORE: Forecasters say 50-60 per cent chance cyclone will cross Queensland coast

Wiebusch said firefighters would face "challenging and difficult" conditions across the state.

"Victoria is in the midst of a severe to extreme intensity heatwave, which is now being matched with damaging winds and storms today, that will result in our state seeing catastrophic and extreme fire danger," Wiebusch said.

"That means that any fires that are in our landscape already or those that start will be uncontrollable, unpredictable and will be very fast-moving."

CFA Captain George Noye, who was visibly emotional this afternoon, told 9News the fire has cleared homes, buildings and livestock.

"There's not much left. It's just ash," Noye said.

"If we go away to a lot of fires and we see this happen with communities, it's devastating."

Earlier this morning, Noye said the damage in Ruffy looked like "an atomic bomb has gone off".

"We've lost the old school, the old Ruffy produce store is gone, three houses on the main street, we've lost countless homes across the area," he told ABC.

"Ten of my firefighters that I know of have lost homes."

READ MORE: 'Expect to lose power': Queenslanders in path of likely cyclone urged to prepare

There are fears the potential impact zone of the Longwood fire could creep towards Melbourne's fringes due to tonight's wind change.

It's also feared the winds could blow a fire in Victoria, south of the Murray River about 50 kilometres east of Albury, into NSW.

This has prompted NSW Rural Fire Service to join efforts at the border to help fight the fire and prevent it from crossing state lines, ahead of extreme heat conditions across the south-east this weekend.

The mercury spiked to 46.5 degrees at Walpeup, in the Mallee region, and peaked at 44.4 degrees in Melbourne, making it the city's hottest day since the Black Summer of 2019-2020.

LIVE UPDATES: Find the latest weather warnings here.

Temperatures are expected to cool across most of the state tomorrow, but the mercury is expected to nudge 40 in some areas including Geelong and Mildura.

A high of 26 degrees is forecast for Melbourne tomorrow.

A severe heatwave warning remains in place for people in the Mallee, Wimmera, Central and South West districts.

The extreme heatwave conditions are set to ease from the west over the weekend, according to the Bureau of Meteorology, as the milder change extends across the state.

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