Victorian firefighters fight large blaze

Victorian firefighters will work hard in the face of worsening weather conditions to ensure a large blaze stays within control lines.
Fire crews are battling a blaze which has burned 400 hectares of grassland and scrub about 90km west of Melbourne, near Ballarat, while bracing for dangerous wind changes, CFA chief fire officer Russell Rees said.
"If it does get out of the control lines we'll be chasing it down into the grassland, but we need the people of Victoria to understand that we don't need any more fires, " Mr Rees told the Nine Network.

"We had a number of fires yesterday, today the wind will be stronger heading into that change.
"Once the change hits it will turn any fire we have around and go in another direction and that's the most risky time for everybody, the firefighters and the community."
Four aircraft will join the fire efforts near the small community of Morrisons to battle the blaze from the air, a CFA spokeswoman said.
She said residents in the area need to be alert to the significant smoke and flying embers, which could spark more fires.
Mr Rees said Victoria had enormous resources to deal with the blaze and any others that may arise, but cautioned people to remain vigilant on a day when a total fire ban has been enforced across the state.
"We want the public to be very careful, because in many instances it's misadventure or plain carelessness that causes fires," he said.
Mr Rees said holidaymakers and people in fire-prone areas need to understand the dangers posed by the weather change and have an action plan in place.