Australia bushfire threat eases

MELBOURNE - Cooler conditions have eased the immediate threat from fires in Victoria today but firefighters warned residents to remain vigilant with dry conditions expected to bring a return to high fire danger next week.

"We're looking at fairly favourable weather conditions until Tuesday but there hasn't been a lot of rain, (so) it won't take much to get us back in the same predicament we were last week," said Craig Ferguson, the manager for Victoria's Department of Sustainability and Environment central emergency coordinating centre.

"People have to keep in mind that it's not over yet."

The cooler weather and increased humidity has given firefighters the opportunity to extend back-burning and strengthen containment lines around fires in the Grampians region in Victoria's west and in the Moondarra State Forest in the Gippsland region.

"Back-burning will put up additional smoke and embers so residents need to keep patrolling their properties," Mr Ferguson said.

"We have to impress on them the need to remain vigilant and alert."

The Country Fire Authority today said the immediate threat to communities in the Grampians eased overnight as firefighters contained the eastern perimeter of the blaze.

However, weather conditions in the area were unstable and residents should remain alert, a CFA spokeswoman said.

The western and southern perimeters of the fire were more difficult to access and were still burning, she said.

The possibility of thunderstorms and increased humidity should help the fires.

More than 740 firefighters, including 140 from NSW, remained in the Grampians region working in shifts.

Meanwhile, 50 firefighters from Tasmania flew into the Gippsland area last night to help fight a deliberately lit blaze in the Moondarra State Forest.

The fire was mostly in forest although residents in the community of Tyers have been warned to be aware of smoke and ember clouds.

Fog reduced visibility in the region overnight hampering firefighting operations.

Aircraft with infra-red imaging cameras will fly over the fires today to highlight potential hot spots on the western and southern edges.

Mr Ferguson said other aircraft would conduct reconnaissance in Gippsland to ensure overnight thunderstorms had not sparked new fires in the area.

The bushfires have claimed three lives in the past week, burnt about 150,000 hectares of bushland, destroyed about 30 homes, killed more than 60,000 head of stock and wiped out crops.

- AAP