Residents in Caveat, Dropmore, Ruffy, Tarcombe, and Terip Terip were urged to “leave immediately” as a fire in Longwood advanced southeast toward Ruffy.

On Wednesday, Melbourne experienced its hottest day in six years, with temperatures soaring to 41°C.

Melbourne was not alone in facing extreme heat; four other areas recorded their highest temperatures since 2019. Longerenong reached 44.3°C, Edenhope hit 42.6°C, Hamilton recorded 41.8°C, and Casterton saw 41.6°C.

The heatwave, which began on Wednesday, is expected to intensify as the week progresses.

Forecasts predict that Mildura, located in the state’s northwest, could see temperatures rise to 45°C on Friday. This could mark the first occurrence of three consecutive days above 44°C in the region since 2018.

In the northeast, near Albury-Wodonga, temperatures are expected to climb to 43°C, and Melbourne may experience even hotter conditions than the 41°C recorded on Wednesday.

Weatherzone warns that the extreme heat will couple with strengthening north-north-westerly winds ahead of a cold front, which will spark the worst of the fire danger across Victoria.

They predict “catastrophic fire danger” on Friday for the Wimmera, Northern Country and North Central districts, while the rest of Victoria remains at the “extreme fire danger” category for the end of the week.

Forest Fire Management Victoria Chief Fire Officer Chris Hardman feared Friday’s conditions could see “lots of assets lost”.

“With the conditions we have ahead of us, these fires will not be able to be suppressed,” he said.

Total fire bans are in place across large parts of the state but forecasters predict thunderstorms and dry lightning could spark blazes and winds could propel the fires.

”If we can’t catch those fires when they’re small, and I mean really small, one tree burning, through lightning, those fires are going to get big and have dreadful impacts on the community,” Hardman added.

The Bureau of Meteorology has heatwave and fire weather warnings in place.