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UPDATE: 8:30am
Conditions have eased across the region as a southerly change and patches of rainfall moved in overnight.
The Glenlofty fire has been brought under control with 17 vehicles still attending at 6.30am this morning, while other fires in the region have been controlled or are being monitored.
EARLIER:
On a day which threatened to be one of the worst for fire risk, Ballarat and the surrounding region was lucky to escape with few outbreaks of any seriousness on Monday.
The most serious incident was the Lexton fire reigniting north of Ballarat. The fire, which began initially on December 20, had been the subject of careful observation in the week since, with crews delegated to monitor the fireground.
Around 11.30am on Monday two fires were reported from the Lexton area, one at the Lexton-Ararat road and another at Rifle Range Road. The second fire was deemed the more serious, and aircraft were sought and despatched from both Ararat and Ballarat to assist the 14 vehicles eventually fighting it.
A Watch and Act alert was again issued for the long-suffering Lexton township; however the fire was declared under control at 3pm. Another fire on Mount Lonarch along the Corcoran track continued to burn, attended by CFA units.
At Yendon, south-east of Ballarat, a firetower observer reported a fire caused by a lightning strike to a tree. The fire quickly jumped the Yendon-Lal Lal road into farmland; however CFA members reported a green crop in paddocks nearby had provided a firebreak suitable to get the blaze under control without the use of air support. DELWP fire support was called to help fell burning trees, with three CFA units attending.
A fire in the Pyrenees Ranges, 8km north of Glenlofty was still uncontrolled at 4pm. The 10-hectare fire was being attended by 25 CFA units.
A wind change was predicted for Ballarat around 6 to 6.30pm, with winds shifting from the north to south-south-westerly.