A Total Fire Ban has been declared across much of Victoria tomorrow with hot, dry and windy conditions set to suffocate most of the state.
Five fire districts will have an extreme fire danger rating tomorrow, including the South West, Wimmera, Central, North Central and West and South Gippsland.
A Total Fire Ban will be in place in those districts, including Melbourne, from midnight tonight until midnight tomorrow.
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Fire danger will be high across the remainder of the state, with the mercury set to peak in the mid 30s in most areas including Melbourne.
Fresh north to north-westerly winds are expected to grow from around dawn tomorrow, particularly in the central ranges and the Otways.
North-westerly winds will pick up in the afternoon across most of the western and central parts of the state.
"We're looking at winds generally 30 to 40 km/h, but with gusts 50 to 60 km/h, but then also those gusts getting a bit stronger, 79 to 80 km/h around a cooler change that is going to come through later in the day," Bureau of Meteorology Senior Meteorologist Brinoy Macpherson said.
"Those winds combined with that hot, dry air is what's elevating our fire danger tomorrow."
A gusty south-westerly wind change is expected to pass through the far south-west of Victoria in the early afternoon, before reaching western districts including Mildura, Ballarat and Geelong around 5pm.
Temperatures could drop 10 degrees when the cool change hits metropolitan areas between 6 and 8pm.
There is also a severe thunderstorm risk tomorrow night which could bring damaging wind gusts up to 90 km/h.
"That added risk of potential fire starts due to the lightning and also the instability will make it a little more challenging for firefighters tomorrow if we do see any starts," Macpherson said.
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The Otways bushfire is now the only Victorian blaze yet to be brought under control, after fires at Walwa and Longwood were contained and handed back to local authorities for rehabilitation on Friday.
"Tomorrow the concerns will very much be for the western parts of the state in particular, down into West and South Gippsland where we still have a lot of grassland fire load in our landscape and we know it's very dry," Emergency Management Commissioner Tim Wiebusch said.
"The whole state is still a tinderbox in terms of the fuel types that are there," Wiebusch said.
"The concerns, particularly around the metropolitan areas, will be in those north-western suburbs all the way through the grasslands down towards Geelong and back out towards Inverleigh."
Firefighters were "reasonably confident" they would be able to keep the Otways fire within containment lines tomorrow, but Wiebusch warned locals to remain vigilant in during unpredictable conditions.
Fire Rescue Victoria Commissioner Gavin Freeman said Victorians in built-up areas should also be on high-alert tomorrow, particularly those north-west of Melbourne around Geelong.
"This includes people that live in town and cities across Victoria, particularly tomorrow north-west of Melbourne around Geelong areas,
"Anywhere where the city meets the bush or the town meets the bush can be still at risk," Freeman said.
"Move two streets back if a fire starts near you."
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