Fire warning Victoria: Catastrophic threat as heatwave, high winds grip southeast Australia, properties lost

Three people are unaccounted for according to authorities, as multiple bushfires burn out of control.

Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Bob Hill says a trio of two adults and a child were asked to leave their property due to danger at Longwood East.

“Later that afternoon, those same fire service representatives re-attended that area to see the house they saw those three people standing in front of had been completely destroyed,” he said.

“Those three people are unaccounted for.”

Multiple houses and a school have been lost as 30 bushfires burn under catastrophic hot and windy conditions.

Emergency warnings remain in place for thousands of residents in northeast Victoria and around the town of Longwood, where two major fires have doubled in size overnight.

It comes as a major heatwave sweeps across Australia’s southeast, with forecasted temperatures to reach 43C in Melbourne and up to 47C in parts of inland Victoria on Friday.

Country Fire Authority captain George Noye, who lives in the regional town of Ruffy, near the Longwood fire, said a school and at least 10 properties have been destroyed.

He said a member of his crew is in hospital with third-degree burns to his hands.

“It’s like a bomb has gone off, we got smashed by the fire spots,” Mr Noye told AAP.

Fire crews are continuing to attack two major out-of-control blazes, with the Longwood fire razing more than 35,000 hectares while flames near Walwa and Mount Lawson along the Victoria-NSW border have burnt over 17,000 hectares.

The Walwa and Mount Lawson fire is not expected to be contained for weeks.

State Control Centre spokesman David Nugent told AAP on Friday morning that 30 new fires had been sparked overnight after significant lightning activity.

He said at least 10,000 lightning strikes were recorded in the state’s east.

“This is a pretty challenging scenario for us for today,” Mr Nugent said.

He confirmed at least two structures had been lost in the Longwood fire, although that number is expected to climb.

Wind gusts of up to 90km/h and a severe thunderstorm risk could cause erratic fire behaviour, the Bureau of Meteorology warned.

The strong winds could also ground the firefighting air fleet.

“It’s every chance at some point the aircraft may not be able to fly,” CFA chief Jason Heffernan said.

“We can expect if a fire takes hold, and we see the fire spread the way they’re going, they’re going to be uncontrollable. They’re going to be unstoppable.”

Thousands of people across the state are also without power, including in fire-affected areas.

Little Yarra CFA captain Peter Cookson, who has been fighting a blaze at Longwood, said the conditions still made him nervous, despite his years of experience.

“It’s all going to be a very bad day,” he told AAP.

“We all prepare for these days, and if nothing happens, that is a win.

“But you can’t say nothing will happen - with these things, they can all start from a spark.”

Paramedics and first responders in catastrophic fire danger areas will be withdrawn on Friday and will only be redeployed to these zones for serious or life-threatening illnesses, Ambulance Victoria said.

The heatwave is expected to affect the ACT and NSW, where a total fire ban has been declared in the eastern Riverina, southern Riverina, southern slopes and Monaro alpine regions for Friday.

Temperatures will not be quite as high in NSW, with Sydney set to reach a maximum of 33C and Canberra expected to hit a high of 39C.

But things will like worsen in the harbour city on Saturday with temperatures expected to reach 42C and an even hotter forecast for the western suburbs.

NSW Ambulance chief superintendent Steve Vaughan urged residents to begin preparing for the hot conditions and stay cool, hydrated, and indoors during the hottest part of the day.

“Heatwaves put real pressure on your body, with consecutive days of relentless heat causing stress that builds up over time,” he said.