WEATHER
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With just nine days left of Winter, Ballarat won't let the season depart without a last taste of sub-zero temperatures.
Rising from an overnight low of minus 0.3 degrees at 12am, the mercury will scale to 13 degrees and a mostly sunny day.
For the morning it will be partly cloudy after patchy light morning frost.
Light winds.
TODAY'S TOP STORY
Family violence victims and support groups in Ballarat have welcomed proposed law reforms aimed at protecting and empowering those suffering at the hands of abusive partners.
The tough new reforms, introduced to state Parliament on Wednesday, include allowing interim intervention orders to become final orders without need for further court hearings and lifting bans on reporting charges and convictions for breaches of family violence intervention orders.
POLICE
The Victoria Police Air Wing has branded a Mount Clear emergency hoax as a nuisance that could have potentially diverted services away from other life-saving scenarios.
The Air Wing flew to Ballarat on Wednesday after it was reported that an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon had been sending out distress calls to planes and satellites since Sunday.
FIRE
Fire crews attended a fire at the McCains factory on the Ring Road on Thursday morning.
The fire started about 5am in a deep fryer and engulfed the the smoke extraction unit.
It was extinguished quickly by the automatic sprinkler system.
Crews remained on scene to ensure the fire was completely extinguished.
AMBULANCE
A Meredith woman was taken to Geelong Hospital on Wednesday afternoon with severe burns.
It is believed she opened an oven at a Midland Highway property and it exploded after 4pm.
She was treated and stabilised at the scene
The woman, aged in her 40s, was transported in a serious but stable condition after receiving burns to her neck and chest.
The air ambulance was alerted but was called off.
V/LINE
Train services appear to be running on time with no reported delays on the @vline_ballarat Twitter feed.