<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>An overnight wind change has kept firefighters on their toes in Victoria as they work to contain a number of out-of-control bushfires.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Fresh emergency warnings were issued for communities near the blaze, burning 25 kilometres west of Walwa.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Residents in multiple towns - Tallangatta Valley, Bullioh, Koetong, Shelley, Berrignama, Lucyvale, Nariel Valley, Cudgewa, Corryong, Towong, Thowgla Valley, Biggara and surrounds - have been told it's "too late to leave" and to "take shelter now".</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><strong><span>LIVE UPDATES:</span></strong></em><span> </span><a href="https://emergency.vic.gov.au/respond/" rel="" target="" title="Get all of the latest Vic Emergency warnings here"><em><strong><span>Get all of the latest Vic Emergency warnings here</span></strong></em></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>People from Granya, Bungil, Burrowye, Walwa and surrounds were advised to get out before it's too dangerous.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>VicEmergency said properties could be impacted as an approaching wind change moved through the region.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Current wind direction is from the west, which is creeping the fire in an easterly direction," the advice said.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/victoria-fires-multiple-bushfires-continue-to-burn-out-of-control-weather-conditions-ease-water-contamination-damage/1af8009c-3ff4-4bc5-881d-8c6af9a26edd" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"A south/south-westerly change is predicted throughout the night, which may change the direction of travel slowly in a north-easterly direction."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A relief centre was available at the Wodonga Racecourse for those in the affected areas.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Meanwhile, authorities battling the Longwood fire - the biggest of the major blazes in the state - are hopeful overnight conditions are good for possible containment.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/victoria-bushfires-firefighter-brigade-commander-tyrone-rice-loses-harcourt-home/718c8e02-4f8c-4ece-896d-529653115e8d"><strong><span>'It was too late': Brigade commander loses home while defending neighbouring properties</span></strong></a><strong></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>However, they say the area's not out of the woods yet, with potential flare-ups still possible due to the winds.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) also still has severe weather warnings in place for parts of the state, including the region surrounding Longwood.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Northern Country, North East, East Gippsland and West and South Gippsland are still under the weather warning, which has now been cancelled for South West, Mallee, North Central, Central and Wimmera districts.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Maximum temperatures in the eastern parts of Victoria are set to go from the mid-20s and 30s today, down to the mid-to-low teens on Sunday, before increasing back to the mid-20s and 30s again early next week, the weather service forecasts.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A total fire ban remains in place across the state on Sunday.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Many of these major fires will continue to burn for days if not weeks," Emergency Management Commissioner Tim Wiebusch said during a press conference on Saturday.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>So far, more than 300,000 hectares have been burnt across the state, and 115 structures have been destroyed.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Those numbers are likely to go up in the coming days as people return to their communities, assess the damage and begin the clean up.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><span>'Kick in the guts' for those who've lost everything</span></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The township of Ruffy has been razed by the Longwood Fire, which decimated properties and even the town's 150-year-old school.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Jamie and Ann Laherty-Hunt were among those who lost their home of more than a decade, describing the fast-moving blaze as "a freight train just coming at us".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"When it came, it came. Everyone uses the word ferocious, and it really kind of is," Ann told 9News. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Losing his home while defending neighbouring properties was a "kick in the guts" for Tyrone Rice.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Harcourt local has worked with the County Fire Authority for 48 years and was fighting a bushfire in his hometown when he received news that his own house was in the firing line.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It was too late, it was gone, it was already on fire," he told 9News.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Rice is now grappling with the loss.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"[A] bit like a kick in the guts, but I'm not the first person to go through it, and I won't be the last," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>And Rice was not alone - his brother and sister-in-law, who lived nearby, also lost their home.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Meanwhile, volunteer firefighter Michael Harper also lost his Alexandra home as he helped others.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><span>Water in bushfire-ravaged town 'not safe to drink'</span></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>And there's a second blow for residents returning to their charred homes in Harcourt.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Authorities have said the tap water is "not safe to drink", and boiling it will not help.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It's believed a burst water main may have caused contaminated water to enter the network, but crews were unable to access the main due to the conditions.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>They're working to provide an alternative water supply until they can repair the damage.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Victorians are also being warned about poor air quality across large parts of the state.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Geelong, Latrobe Valley, East Gippsland, the North East, North Central, Northern Country, Wimmera and Mallee are being listed as "poor", according to the state's Environment Protection Authority.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>While for Melbourne, Central and West and South Gippsland, the air quality is currently labelled "fair" and it's at "good" in the state's south-west.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><span>Emergency relief assistance extended</span></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Premier Jacinta Allan said the community is grieving as she declared a state of disaster across Victoria.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The primary reason for the declaration was to allow more powers for emergency workers to force evacuations and keep people out of danger areas.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"This has been with one single purpose, protecting and saving Victorian lives," Allan said in a press conference on Saturday morning.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It also opens up more payments for those in need, with anyone in a fire zone now eligible.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"This will not be the end of the assistance for those fire-affected communities, as those impact assessments continue, we know there is a long recovery journey ahead," Allan said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. 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