What you should do:
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- Monitor changes, including increased wind speed, change in wind direction, smoke or poor visibility that indicates the situation is changing.
- If you are away from home, do not return.
- If the situation changes you will need to leave quickly. Plan to:
- Take your pets, medications, mobile phone and charger.
- Travel to the home of family or friends that are away from the warning area.
- Emergency services may not be able to help you if you decide to stay.
Earlier:
Fire crews are rushing to a bush and scrub fire near Scarsdale.
Crews were called out to Staffordshire Reef Road near Jubilee Road in Newtown about 3.30pm, with air support requested.
Eleven vehicles have responded to the fire so far, and it is not yet under control.
It comes on a Total Fire Ban day in the central district, with Ballarat airport hitting 35.1 degrees about noon before a storm hit, bringing hail and gusting winds.
Dozens of homes across the district have had intermittent power on Tuesday afternoon.
Elsewhere, there have been minor fires quickly brought under control at Stockyard Hill, west of Ballarat, and further south towards Lismore, as well as north of Daylesford.
Serious fires are burning in the Grampians, after "catastrophic" conditions were predicted in the Wimmera.
