Conditions across fire-ravaged Victoria have eased overnight after at least 12 homes were lost.
Authorities have downgraded emergency warnings and residents have been allowed back into Scotsburn near Ballarat to assess the damage caused by a fire that surprised crews with its speed and ferocity.
Another four homes were damaged and 30 sheds destroyed by the blaze that scorched 4600 hectares.
The Country Fire Authority now considers the Scotsburn fire under control while fast-moving fires in the state's northeast are burning within containment lines.
Emergency warnings in Barnawartha, Indigo Upper, Indigo Valley, Levena and Levena West have been downgraded to watch and act.
The CFA's James Todd says the fires in the northeast, centred around Barnawartha, stretch across 8800 hectares but will hopefully be under control by the end of Monday.
"What we've got is fairly stable weather patterns for the rest of the week," Mr Todd said.
"We'll have cooler weather and more light breezes, with a lot less chance of fires starting from natural events."
In the southwest, Mr Todd said over 500 personnel had battled to contain the Scotsburn blaze, with authorities set to conduct impact assessments on Monday.
Authorities had earlier said crews were caught out by the volatile conditions at Scotsburn, where a spark from machinery in a paddock is believed to have started the fierce fire.
Three CFA crews were lucky to escape the fast-moving flames that also razed 30 sheds.
Trapped in their trucks when a storm cell ran into the smoke plume at Scotsburn, pushing the fire to the west while the winds hit from the north, they activated sprinklers and ducked under fire retardant blankets until the danger had passed.
Mr Todd said it was relief to see conditions settle but Victorians needed to prepare for warmer conditions closer to Christmas and into summer.
"The forecast for Christmas Eve and Day is low 30s, a bit warmer in the northeast," he said.
"But we're saying to all Victorians that we're only in December - and that means we have two more months of fire ahead of us."
Change brings relief to NSW firies
A mild change sweeping NSW is expected to bring some welcome relief to firefighters who've battled more than 40 blazes in scorching heat.
Firefighters were under the pump on the ground and in the air on Sunday after a large bushfire which tore through thick scrub north of Newcastle leapt containment lines.
The blaze burnt 350 hectares of scrub near the Williamtown Airport before blowing south towards Nelson Bay Road.
Residents along Nelson Bay Road between Richardson Road and Medowie Road were warned to be vigilant against embers, after the blaze "spotted" across its southern lines.
Smoke forced the closure of Nelson Bay Road and Medowie Road at around 1pm, with firefighters working to contain the blaze as a "watch and act" alert was issued.
The fire was later downgraded to "advice" level after crews gained the upper hand.
Some 800 firefighters responded to 45 grass and bush fires across the state on Sunday as hot, dry and windy conditions from South Australia and Victoria pushed into NSW.
There were 180 fire trucks on the front line and more than 60 aircraft in the skies as temperatures soared to 40 degrees in some parts of the state.
Total fire bans were issued for eight areas across southern and western NSW as well as the ACT, with severe fire danger ratings in place across the same regions.
An RFS spokesman told AAP all fires were being watched for flair-ups amid hot dry winds, low humidity and very hot conditions on Sunday.
Crews are still working to douse a blaze on the ACT/NSW border which has engulfed about 42 hectares.
Firefighters will stay at the Mt Clear bushfire overnight to monitor any hot spots that may flare up.
No total fire bans will be enforced in NSW on Monday as conditions ease, but there remains a very high fire danger in the state's upper central-west plains.
