Mild weather across Victoria has given firefighters a breather after extreme heat, high winds and dry lightning strikes on Wednesday.
Severe thunderstorms brought winds gusting to more than 100km/h in some areas in a day of wild winds and extreme heat on Wednesday.
Dry lightning, particularly in northeastern Victoria, delivered more than 1100 strikes before 7pm as the storms rolled across the state.
The combination gave rise to fears that a spate of new fires might be ignited but much cooler weather on Thursday has put firefighters in a much better position.
"We're definitely happy at the moment and that was always going to be the case after we got over the heat and winds yesterday," a State Control Centre spokesman told AAP.
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"We're now watching the Wye River fire but the fire danger ratings are much lower in relation to yesterday."
These conditions will persist at least until Sunday, the spokesman said.
The Wye River-Jamieson Track fire has burned 2515 hectares and remains out of control deep in rugged forest country away from properties.
The State Emergency Service had 436 calls for assistance across the state from Wednesday afternoon as the storms swept through, 250 of those in greater metropolitan Melbourne.
The worst-hit areas included Melbourne's outer east and northeast, Colac, Warragul and Mildura.
Most calls were for trees blown down and minor building damage, mostly affecting sheds and outbuildings.
Damaging winds and dry lightning strikes accompanied thunderstorms that affected a vast area of Victoria on Wednesday afternoon and evening, spanning from the Mallee to the northeast and from the surf coast to metropolitan Melbourne and Gippsland.
Gusts peaked at 107km/h in Hopetoun and 100km/h in St Kilda, but gusts over 90km/h were common in many parts of Victoria.
