Bayindeen bushfire still burning as Victoria and South Australia swelter through extreme weather

High temperatures and strong winds are forecast across the south-east of Australia today.  (ABC News: Rachel Clayton)

Victorian firefighters have contained a bushfire north-west of Ballarat but have warned residents not to return home yet, with worsening conditions expected this evening.

In South Australia, residents near a spreading grassfire at Fisher, about 100 kilometres north-east of Adelaide, have been told to prepare to leave.

Both Victoria and South Australia have experienced a day of heightened fire risk, with temperatures set to soar to the low 40s in both states.

A catastrophic fire danger warning has been forecast for Victoria’s Wimmera region in the west, while surrounding regions are being monitored and could be escalated from extreme to catastrophic.

The bushfire that began near the Victorian town of Bayindeen, north-west of Ballarat, last Thursday is still burning, but incident controller Jarrod Hayse at midday confirmed fire crews had a control line completely surrounding the blaze.

“We’re currently monitoring the perimeter of the fire and we haven’t seen any growth in the fire today,” Mr Hayse said.

“With the weather today, it really is an hour-by-hour proposition so we’re monitoring that closely.

“For every hour that this fire doesn’t breach control lines, we’re in a really good position.”

A hot and dry westerly wind change could bring “volatile conditions” later today, VicEmergency said, with a chance of storms forecast in the Wimmera and central Victoria.

“We’re going to monitor the wind change throughout the day, but we expect around sunset tonight that there could be a westerly wind change that could impact the fire ground,” Mr Hayse said.

Some regions saw a swift change in conditions mid-afternoon, Victorian State Control Centre spokesperson Luke Hegarty told the ABC.

The town of Mortlake in south-west Victoria saw temperatures rise from 30C to 37C within an hour, he said, with authorities closely monitoring the situation.

“We still have a couple of hours before we settle to a point where we say we are confidently out of the woods,” Mr Hegarty said.

“If people have relocated, stay where you are for now, it’s gonna be the safest spot for you.”

Residents were advised on Tuesday to leave for safety if they were within a fire zone, which took in towns including Beaufort, Lexton, Amphitheatre and Elmhurst.

A watch and act warning is still in place for Amphitheatre, Bayindeen, Ben Nevis, Chute, Elmhurst, Eversley, Glenlogie, Main Lead, Mount Cole, Mount Lonarch, Raglan and Waterloo with residents advised it is still not safe to return.

More than 600 firefighters from Victoria and New South Wales have been deployed to the region to help combat the spread of fire.

New bushfire in South Australia

Residents at Fisher, near Swan Reach in the Murraylands, have been told to prepare to leave after a grassfire worsened in the afternoon.

At about 4:30pm local time the Fisher grass fire was moving in an north to north-easterly direction towards Old Punyelroo Road and Murraylands Road, the South Australian Country Fire Service (CFS) said.

“Prepare to leave. Take action now as this bushfire may threaten your safety. Check that the path is clear and go to a safer place. Do not enter this area as conditions are dangerous,” the CFS said in an update.

Earlier today extreme fire danger ratings were issued for seven districts in the state: Flinders, Mid North, Mount Lofty Ranges, Riverland, Murraylands, Upper South East and Lower South East.

[MAP: SA fire danger

SA’s Emergency Services Minister Joe Szakacs said today’s conditions would be some of the “harshest” experienced this summer in South Australia.

“Complacency must be parked to the side,” he said at a press conference on Tuesday.

“We are, as a state, facing some serious conditions and now is the time for those people in the seven districts and the broader districts that are also facing some tough weather tomorrow to put in place their bushfire planning.”

Country Fire Service Deputy Chief Officer Georgie Cornish urged people not to be complacent after the state’s mild summer.

“It will be a long day so we will need the support from the community to be ready and prepared,” Ms Cornish said.

It’s expected to be hot and windy across the state with no rain forecast, with conditions not expected to ease until the evening.