Fire bans across Victoria as hot weather sweeps the state

SUMMER has returned to Melbourne for the weekend, so make the most of the warmer weather while it lasts. But with hot conditions comes a weekend of warnings and total fire bans.

SUMMER is back in Victoria, as hot weather and winds sweep across the state, leading to a total fire ban for much of the state, this weekend.

It will warm up slowly today with the temperature expected to hit 25C late afternoon, the Bureau of Meteorology said.

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“It’s going to be a pretty benign day and it will warm up slowly over the day after a fairly fresh start,” senior forecaster Tom Delamotte said.

But temperatures are expected to hit 32C on Saturday and a total fire ban has been declared for most of the state.

The sun peeking out from behind the Yarra River.

No fires can be lit in the Mallee, Wimmera, South West, Northern Country, North Central and Central (which includes Melbourne and Geelong) districts.

“There will be northerly winds on Saturday and we are expecting gusts of between 60 to 70km,’ Mr Delamotte said.

Total fire bans declared in six districts https://t.co/tms83zko2T pic.twitter.com/ePWA0vdb6r

— CFA Updates (@CFA_Updates) March 15, 2018

The forecaster said there would be a fire risk because of the heat and the strong winds combined with the lack of significant rain.

“We did have 2.2mm not too long ago but that’s not a lot and we’ve had more than 40 days without significant rainfall,” he said.

The warnings come after the state’s Emergency Management Commissioner Craig Lapsley warned about the “very serious fire weather” earlier this week.

“It’s going to be a hot and windy weekend and on top of that it is extremely dry,” Mr Lapsley said on Wednesday.

People need to be aware of the conditions and know there is an increased chance of fires, he said.