Bushfires burn down more than 100 houses on Christmas day

The blaze has burned across 2,200 hectares (5,437 acres) so far, the CFA said.

The area is one of Australia’s leading tourist areas, famed for its picturesque scenery and the freaky rock formations visible just offshore in the blustery Southern Ocean.

Local CFA brigade captain Roy Moriarty said Wye River’s long-standing fire safety plan had helped save the town.

Victoria’s emergency management commissioner Craig Lapsley praised local firefighters for preventing an even bigger disaster.

“At the moment no one’s allowed in yet because it’s still out of control, so we’re on standby”, she said.

“We see this as part of Lorne community – we dodged the bullet and unfortunately Wye River and Separation Creek didn’t”, he told ABC 24.

The blaze prompted evacuations in two towns popular with holidaymakers, Wye River and Separation Creek, southwest of Melbourne, on Friday.

Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews has since announced government grants of $1,300 to those affected by the bushfires, who have lost their homes or are unable to return.

Walking tracks in the nearby Great Otway National Park have been closed to the public as some of the fires are within the park itself.

“We ask for people to be patient and to follow the directions given by emergency service workers”.

Surf Coast Shire Lorne ward councillor Clive Goldsworthy said the Lorne township was still busy on Friday afternoon.

But he warned there were “still many hotspots within the fire area so the change in conditions and the rain that fell this morning does not mean the threat posed by this fire is over”.

Many people spent Christmas night in shelters after they were ordered to leave their homes. Hot temperatures and gusty winds have caused the initial fire to spread past containment lines.

A BUSHFIRE on Victoria’s south-west coast led to evacuations in towns between Lorne and Apollo Bay yesterday.

Another fire on the outskirts of Melbourne earlier in the day was brought under control.