Updated January 05, 2020 22:03:18

Today's light rain will barely give firefighters the chance to "take a breath" before Victoria is likely to face another fire emergency in a few days, authorities say.

Two people have died, four are missing and at least 110 properties and 220 outbuildings have been lost to the fires this week.

Nearly a million hectares have been blackened.

Fires incident controller Andy Gillham said some communities were threatened two or three times over Saturday, including a "very close call at Omeo", where Army helicopters evacuated people from the oval.

Mr Gillham said light rain and cooler conditions in the state's east was "simply a reprieve", and people needed to prepare for more emergencies later this week.

"So the cool weather — all that means is we have a bit of time to take a breath in the fire fight, we have a bit of time to refocus, we have a bit of time to readjust and to try and somehow come to grips with what we have been seeing in the last few days in East Gippsland," he said.

Alpine communities under threat

Communities south of the Alpine town of Myrtleford were urged to evacuate on Sunday afternoon as a bushfire burning near Mount Buffalo moved north.

In a warning issued about 2:00pm, authorities said Buffalo River Valley communities should head to Myrtleford, and those further west should head to Wangaratta.

In Myrtleford, rain was falling as police door-knocked the community, advising the elderly and people with asthma to get out of the town as smoke intensified.

The decision to evacuate had already been made by Mary Novak, who said she had never seen fire conditions like these in her 74 years living in the town.

Ms Novak said she was preparing to pick up a friend and go to Wangaratta.

"When you see it so still, it really makes me eerie," she said.

Later on, those residents were told light rain had reduced the fire's spread and they could return to their properties, but should continue to monitor conditions.

Emergency warnings have also been in place for bushfires threatening communities at Wingan River and Club Terrace in East Gippsland.

More homes lost on Saturday

On Saturday night, the Alpine township of Cobungra was hit by a bushfire that also threatened the townships of Dinner Plain and Mount Hotham.

Mr Gillham said some of Victoria's fires trebled in size as they were fuelled by gusty winds and record temperatures in the north-east.

"We do know that there's likely to be losses, house losses in the Cobungra estate but we don't have any idea what that looks like yet," Mr Gillham said.

He said some residents across East Gippsland and the north-east may be able to get access to their homes in coming days, but would likely be forced to leave again over Thursday and Friday as fire conditions worsen once more.

Firefighters were able to protect the town of Corryong as it came under ember attack on Saturday night, but the fire destroyed properties in the smaller communities of Tintaldra and Towong.

One firefighter suffered burns last night in the Tintaldra area and was flown to Wangaratta for treatment.

In the High Country, there were concerns fires at Mount Buffalo could spark spot fires and threaten the town of Bright, but this did not eventuate.

Plea for cash donations over clothes, food

As the extent of the bushfire devastation is revealed, hundreds of Victorians have been sending clothes and food to the fire front — something that Premier Daniel Andrews said had become a problem.

"I don't want to appear harsh in any way, but we don't need any more clothes, food, trucks on our roads," Mr Andrews said.

"We don't have the warehouse capacity, the people or the time to sort through.

"I know it all comes from a place of kindness and I thank everybody who's made those donations, but we are getting to a point where we don't have the space or the people or the need."

Instead, the Government has set up a bushfire fund to help families buy urgent supplies.

The fund, created with the Bendigo Bank and the Salvation Army, will be chaired by former deputy premier Pat McNamara, who has also chaired the relief fund set up after the state's catastrophic 2009 bushfires.

Rain unlikely to bring much relief

Light rain has been recorded across areas of East Gippsland and the High Country today, but Mr Crisp said it would not make the task of firefighters much easier.

"In fact, in some ways, it might hinder us from getting into some areas where we might be thinking about doing some backburning," Mr Crisp said.

"It's welcome relief for people who are out there, but in terms of the impact it's going to have on the fires, it's nil."

The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) described the rain as a double-edged sword because the wet ground could create hazards for firefighters.

BOM forecaster Grace Legge said fire-affected areas would receive "some rainfall, unfortunately not huge amounts".

"Temperatures have dropped significantly compared to yesterday and it is a moister air mass, allowing the relative humidities to increase over most areas," she said.

Mr Crisp said the milder conditions had allowed relief efforts to get into the 18 communities that remained isolated, delivering satellite phones and other supplies and helping people to get out.

Omeo evacuee vows to leave earlier next time

Yesterday, Army helicopters were used to help dozens of people escape the fierce fire threat in Omeo, and the Navy and Air Force have taken about 1,200 people out of the coastal town of Mallacoota.

Elise Richards, who was choppered from Omeo with her three children as her husband fought fires, said the ordeal had reshaped her view on leaving bushfire zones early.

She said they evacuated to the hospital while embers, ash and debris began to fall from the sky.

"It was a lot of panic and, to be fair, maybe it was a bit over the top, but when you're in the middle of it … it was very obvious the fire was coming towards Omeo," she said.

"It was such a short timeframe to decide if we needed to evacuate or not."

She said she was urged to leave with her children as the fire came closer.

"We doubted all our decisions that we had made for the safety of our family, and that's a terrible feeling, when you feel like maybe you have put your kids in danger," Ms Richards said.

"Knowing that we were leaving our family, husbands … it was a pretty hectic decision to make, and potentially be separated for who knows how long."

She is now staying with family in Bairnsdale, but plans to return home as soon as possible.

"Yesterday's experience has helped me realise that I need to be better prepared for the kids' sake," she said.

"So when there is going to be a higher risk day with fire, I will be leaving with a car, with our stuff in a controlled manner, rather than the panic that surrounded yesterday."

Relief centres overflow with donations

A convoy of about 150 trucks driven by volunteers is delivering supplies, including hay for animals, food, clothing and toiletries to places like Buchan and Omeo.

"We're taking everything from dog food, cat food, sheep feed, hay, toothbrushes, you name it," organiser Malcolm Leys said.

Beekeeper Bill McNamara left his home on the Mornington Peninsula at 3:00am to drop off a load of hay to a fodder donation station just outside Bairnsdale this morning.

"Fire on top of drought: it doesn't get much worse," he said.

Mr McNamara said he had done "a whip-round" of others in his area for hay for animals in fire-affected areas.

"We've had a good year back there.

"It'll keep some livestock going."

At Tallangatta in the state's north-east, the relief centre has been so overrun with donations for fire-ravaged communities that it has had to turn some away.

Supplies will be taken into towns such as Corryong today by convoy.

Military steps up relief work

At least 50 American firefighters have joined more than 1,000 local firefighters battling Victorian blazes, and military relief efforts are ramping up.

In East Gippsland, about 100 Army personnel moved into Bairnsdale Secondary College on Saturday afternoon.

The Army's Engineer Support Task Group will help the CFA assess damage from the fires and use military vehicles to help CFA officers move around fire zones as they carry out arson investigations.

Defence planes flew 257 people out of Mallacoota on Sunday, with about 413 people still waiting to leave the town.

It is estimated that 400 people will remain in Mallacoota once the evacuation is completed.

Mallacoota resident Mark Tregellas said the town's second-largest employer, its abalone co-operative, had been destroyed by fire.

"So we've had some people in town who have lost all of their possessions, lost their home and lost their employment," he said.

"I don't know what they're going to be able to do."

Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said 450,000 P2 face masks from a national stockpile were being provided to at-risk Victorians and frontline workers.

"Although these P2 masks have been held in the National Medical Stockpile for use in pandemics, I have made them available today because of the urgent need," Mr Hunt said.

Governor-General David Hurley is planning to spend the day at Gippsland relief centres with residents who have left their homes.

He conveyed a message from the Queen and Prince Phillip expressing their sympathy for those affected and thanking emergency services workers.

An unprecedented disaster declaration covering much of the eastern part of the state remains in force, and Ms Neville said similar measures may be necessary when hot and dangerous fire conditions return later in the week.

Topics: disasters-and-accidents, fires, bushfire, melbourne-3000, cann-river-3890, walwa-3709, omeo-3898, mallacoota-3892, corryong-3707, ballarat-3350, bendigo-3550, horsham-3400, mildura-3500, sale-3850, shepparton-3630, warrnambool-3280, wodonga-3690, vic

First posted January 05, 2020 09:24:45