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Source: ONE News -
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Victorian firefighters face their toughest conditions since Black Saturday amid heat, dry winds and the threat of lightning strikes on Thursday.
A total fire ban - the first under the new bushfire warning system - has been declared across the northwest, northeast and central districts, where the fire danger will be rated severe.
The total fire ban covers centres including metropolitan Melbourne, Bendigo, Shepparton, Wodonga, Mildura, Ballarat and Horsham.
Fire chiefs said it was up to individuals to heed bushfire warnings and take action.
Temperatures will rise above 40C in the north of the state, and well into the 30s in Melbourne along with gusty northerly winds, low humidity and lightning.
"So we'll have the weather conditions and potential source of ignition. That's a particular concern for forest (fires)," Department of Sustainability and Environment chief fire officer Ewan Waller said.
"What it will mean is, say a fire does start in forest tomorrow, or tonight, it will be quite difficult to control. It will burn through tomorrow and then tomorrow night before we're hoping for eventual rain on Saturday."
Waller said 20 aircraft were on standby and emergency incident management teams were at the ready across the state.
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