Victoria Bushfires LIVE: Plenty residents leaving area because of Plenty Gorge fire

Some of the fires are so large they are generating their own weather systems, and thunderstorms in the area have led to lightning strikes sparking new blazes. There have been record-breaking temperatures in parts of Gippsland too, with Orbost recording its warmest ever December day. 

The area is currently subject to a severe thunderstorm warning too, which heightens the risk of strong winds. 

At Bruthen, town perimeter defences have been breached by fires to the west and the Country Fire Authority says that crews are working hard to contain multiple fires. 

And while the cool change has blown through Melbourne from the west of the state, it's yet to arrive in Gippsland to the east.

The cool change won't hit likely hit there until after midnight, and since it will be accompanied by the wind direction changing, it means the time between now and when the sun rises tomorrow will be unpredictable and critical. 

In the meantime, it is best to keep checking the Vic Emergency website:  https://www.emergency.vic.gov.au/respond/

Stay safe. 

The 51-year-old, who sought asylum in Australia from Iraq with his wife and three children, had packed their bags with clothes, passports, jewellry, photographs and electronics. They planned on driving to the emergency relief centre at the Whittlesea Civic Centre in South Morang as soon as darkness fell.

Mr Hamed had a hose ready to wet down the house before he left.

"It might seem a bit useless if the fire turns and comes towards the house.... it's very hard to leave," he said.

"But coming from Iraq, where it is a war zone and you're sitting in a room wearing masks to protect yourself from chemical weapons... we've been through worse and our lives are more important."

A Metropolitan Fire Brigade spokeswoman said the fire near Clovemont Way in Bundoora was declared under control at 6:21pm, but the bushfire in Plenty Gorge is still alight.

The cause of the fire is still unknown, with Victoria Police investigating.

Now that the cool change has passed through, residents of Plenty have been urged to leave their homes in case the winds from the south-west blows the fire towards them. 

Ms Patten plans to evacuate her horses and 25 greyhounds from her property if the wind suddenly changes and the fire edges closer.

"We've got our trailer set-up and I've got a mate who lives around the corner and he's got his trailer set up to help us, so yeah, we're all ready to go," she said. "It's quite scary though as for years and years whenever we've walked through the gorge we've always said 'if that ever goes up, it's going to go up."They haven't cleared the land properly in years, it's pretty bad in there."

Residents of Plenty - in the area shaded orange in the map below - are being urged to leave the area ahead of a wind change that will pass through the area shortly, sending the bushfire towards them.