Firefighters fought more than 150 fires across the state yesterday as Victoria experienced its first state wide Total Fire Ban of the bushfire season and Code Red Fire Danger Rating in the Mallee and Northern Country.
There were more than 2000 CFA firefighters and 500 vehicles on the ground as most of Victoria was subjected to very hot and dry conditions, as well as strong and gusty winds throughout the day.
A significant grass fire ignited at around midday on Thursday, 21 November in Strathallan, which eventually escalated to an Emergency warning for Fairy Dell, Nanneella and Strathallan.
The fire was brought under control and the warning was downgraded to an advice message at 7.34pm last night and firefighters remained on scene overnight.
By 7pm yesterday, 46 warnings had been issued for fires during the day, including five Emergency warnings, 12 Watch and Act warnings, 27 Advice messages and two Community Information notifications.
The Code Red conditions in the Mallee and Northern Country resulted in the closure of 229 schools and early learning centres.
The strong winds damaged buildings, brought down trees and impacted power supplies across the state.
At its peak, more than 130,000 households were without power due to weather conditions as the storm front moved through the state.
VICSES had received almost 2100 requests for assistance on Thursday due to the extreme weather conditions across the state, with Mill Park, Epping and Creswick the most impacted areas.
More than 1400 requests for assistance related to fallen trees, while more than 500 were in relation to building damage.
