The main fires that have killed so many people are in the hills just north east of Melbourne. There is a separate fire near Beechworth. Phil Schroder <<email>> reports:

Saturday the 7th was the hottest day on record in Victoria. It reached 45 degrees in Wangaratta and 47 in the west of the state. After the end of the Bogong Cup on the 22nd of January, there was only one day with a maximum less than 30 degrees and 8 days above 40 degrees. Combined with the heat were strong northerly winds of up to 70 kph in low lying areas like Wangaratta and Albury and more than 100 kph at Mt. Hotham.

Some days earlier, there were some smaller bushfires in southern part of the state which began but flared into monsters on the 7th. Now there are over 40 fires statewide with 600+ houses destroyed and over 100 dead. I’m one of the lucky ones. A fire started 4 km south of the town of Beechworth (the town I live in) on Saturday but the hot northerlies blew it away from us. Since then, it has burnt Happy Valley, the Pinnacles, Kancoona and its spotting on the east side of the Kiewa Valley. To the south, it's heading towards Myrtleford threatening the plantation on the hill above town. It's now over 100,000 acres in size. See the attached fire map.

It's 18 degrees now and its blowing from the south and there’s smoke everywhere. A temporary relief for some but a new threat to others as the fire changes direction. There were some thunderstorms this morning which possibly started more fires in the mountains; I hope not.

Overview of fires in Victoria.

The weather outlook looks good for the next week in northeastern Victoria with a southern breeze and cool conditions. See here.