Another Total Fire Ban has been declared for much of Victoria on Thursday, February 22, including the Ballarat region, as authorities prepare for another day of "extreme" fire conditions.
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The city is forecast to reach a top of 36 degrees with windy weather also in the mix, and residents in high-risk areas are urged to activate their bushfire plans.
The Total Fire Ban has been declared for the Central, South West, North Central, Northern Country, Wimmera and Mallee regions.
The declaration means no fires can be lit in the open air between 12.01am and 11.59pm on Thursday, February 22.
CFA state agency commander Rohan Luke said Thursday would be a "fire spike day", but conditions would not be as extreme as last Tuesday.
"We are expecting to see a challenging and dynamic day that will put pressure on our communities and fire services, particularly in the Western part of the state," Mr Luke said.
Mr Luke said much of the CFAs focus would be on areas already hit by fire over the past week, including Pomonal, Dadswells Bridge and Newtown.
"Given the winds tomorrow, it is possible that we will see (fire activity) in those areas, and also new starts through lightning strikes predicted in the western part of Victoria," Mr Luke said.
In preparation for tomorrow, the CFA has moved additional strike teams to the western half of the state as well as additional aircraft.
An Erickson Air Crane will operate out of Ballarat tomorrow, as well as three fixed wing air bombers.
A larger air tanker has also been flown down from New South Wales to support Victoria's existing fleet.
"We ask the community to ensure that they support us, support our fire services that have been really busy over the last week or so to stop new starts," Mr Luke said.
What we can expect over the weekend
Bureau of Meteorology Emergency Services Meteorologist Kevin Parkyn said conditions are expected to settled heading into the weekend.
"There will be much milder conditions on Friday, settled weather over the weekend into early next week," Mr Parkyn said.
"Typically it is what we would expect on a hot summers day with a wind change later in the day."
A cool change, with the chance of a thunderstorm is also expected later on Thursday afternoon. Friday is then set for a top of 19 degrees with a shower or two, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
"We are looking at the fire dangers being extreme in the Wimmera, South-West and the central district and high in all other districts except East Gippsland which is moderate," Senior meteorologist Christie Johnston said
"Once the cool change comes through Thursday afternoon and evening we will see the fire dangers a little bit more suppressed on Friday ... that's mostly driven by the winds because the temperatures will be significantly cooler on Friday.
"At this stage, the cool change is expected to move into south-western Victoria during the early afternoon and then move slowly across the south and the west ... it's expected through Melbourne somewhere between 6pm and 8pm.
"We could see some storm activity near and ahead of this change. It's not expected to be as widespread or severe as what we saw last Tuesday, but we could see some thunderstorms. Any thunderstorms that do develop are not expected to produce a lot of rainfall ... but they could still produce some gusty winds."
How will trains be impacted?
Meanwhile, V/Line will implement its extreme heat timetable on Thursday, on most lines including Ballarat.
"Due to the forecast temperatures across Victoria, extreme heat timetables will be running to ensure our train services run safely," a Department of Transport statement said.
"Extreme heat speed restrictions are enforced when temperatures exceed 36 degrees in order to reduce the likelihood of train and track faults, while also keeping passengers safe.
"When an Extreme Heat Timetable is in place, journey times may be extended by a few minutes as we reduce the speed of our trains."
More information on timetable changes can be found by visiting the V/Line website or at the nearest staff V/Line station.
It comes after extreme fire conditions hit the region on Tuesday, February 13, where firefighters were forced to tackle several blazes, including a grass fire at Staffordshire Reef, south of Scarsdale.
Residents in the area, including Scarsdale, Ross Creek and Smythesdale evacuated as the fire reached the Ross Creek State Forest.
More information on Total Fire Bans and the fire danger period can be found at cfa.vic.gov.au
