In the wake of relentless bushfires sweeping across Victoria, a family of three has gone missing, and more than 20 homes are feared destroyed. The fires continue to rage uncontrollably, posing a grave threat to communities throughout the region.

The Longwood fire alone has scorched over 48,000 hectares, prompting urgent evacuations in numerous towns as residents flee the oncoming danger. Meanwhile, in the state’s north-east, the Walwa blaze has consumed more than 17,000 hectares, adding to the mounting crisis.

Authorities are particularly concerned for the safety of a man, woman, and child last seen by firefighters at their residence in the Longwood East area. Tragically, when fire crews returned during the afternoon, they found the home reduced to ashes.

“The whereabouts of these three individuals remain unknown at this time,” stated Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Bob Hill during a morning briefing. The uncertainty surrounding their fate adds a further layer of urgency to the ongoing emergency response efforts.

Crews returned to find the property destroyed by fire yesterday afternoon.

“Those three people, we do not know at this point in time where they may be,” Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Bob Hill said this morning.

“At this point in time, I’m not suggesting we’ve seen three people perish, all I’m saying is these three people are unaccounted for.”

Emergency services are currently unable to investigate their disappearance as the area is still a danger zone but the trio remain unaccounted for this evening.

Victoria’s Emergency Management Commissioner Tim Wiebusch confirmed “community and residential” properties have been destroyed in the Longwood fire.

Many of these losses have been in and around the Ruffy area.

Wiebusch said the number of properties destroyed could not yet be confirmed, but that the Ruffy community centre and telephone exchange had been destroyed, along with multiple homes.

Wiebusch said firefighters would face “challenging and difficult” conditions across the state.

“Victoria is in the midst of a severe to extreme intensity heatwave, which is now being matched with damaging winds and storms today, that will result in our state seeing catastrophic and extreme fire danger,” Wiebusch said.

“That means that any fires that are in our landscape already or those that start will be uncontrollable, unpredictable and will be very fast-moving.”

CFA Captain George Noye, who was visibly emotional this afternoon, told 9News the fire has cleared homes, buildings and livestock.

“There’s not much left. It’s just ash,” Noye said.

“If we go away to a lot of fires and we see this happen with communities, it’s devastating.”

Earlier this morning, Noye said the damage in Ruffy looked like “an atomic bomb has gone off”.

“We’ve lost the old school, the old Ruffy produce store is gone, three houses on the main street, we’ve lost countless homes across the area,” he told ABC.

“Ten of my firefighters that I know of have lost homes.”

Approximately 1200 to 1600 hectares of a pine plantation have been destroyed by the Walwa fire, though no property there has be lost as yet.

A total fire ban has been declared across the whole of Victoria for tomorrow.

Temperatures are expected to cool across most of the state tomorrow, but the mercury is expected to nudge 40 in some areas including Geelong and Mildura.

A high of 26 degrees is forecast for Melbourne tomorrow.