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Firefighters tackling Victoria's devastating bushfires have welcomed stable weather conditions that allowed control lines to be set up.
After six days tackling the worst natural disaster in Australia's history, low winds and cool conditions helped firefighters on Thursday.
Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) spokesman Kevin Monk said Thursday was the first day since Saturday that no immediate threat messages were issued to towns.
"These relatively mild conditions have really aided firefighting efforts," Monk said.
"The areas of concern, there is still active fires southeast and southwest of Alexandra and some concern around Healesville and Toolangi," he said.
He said firefighting efforts were on Thursday boosted by help from interstate, giving some firefighters a chance to catch up with friends and family.
On Friday firefighters from New Zealand are due to arrive to also help fight the fires, with US officers arriving to help efforts on Sunday.
Monk said fears that the 108,000 hectare Yea-Murrindindi fire could merge with the 31,000 hectare Bunyip fire did not come to pass.
"In these current conditions that is unlikely to occur," he said.
But on Thursday about 40 Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB) officers fought a small blaze in the Melbourne suburb of Ivanhoe which burnt out three hectares.
A MFB spokesman said the grass and scrub fire was suspicious, but was quickly brought under control by 45-50 firefighters.
Meanwhile, a Country Fire Authority (CFA) volunteer who spent the week battling bushfires has died in a suspicious house fire in Melbourne.
Colleagues named the dead man as Russell Pitt, whose body was found in the burnt-out ruins of his Upper Ferntree Gully home on Thursday morning.
Fire crews were called to the single storey weatherboard home in
Jean Street about 3.40am (AEDT) and were shocked to find the house
belonged to Pitt.
Do you have friends or relatives who have been caught up in Victoria's bushfires? If so, ONE News would like to hear from you. Email us at news@tvnz.co.nz or phone 0800 886397 or 09 916 7321.
Click here to find out how you can donate to
the victims of the Australian bushfires.
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