Victorians living in the fire-ravished Kilmore area owe their homes, and lives, to the state's firefighters, the bushfires minister says.
The Mickleham Road/Kilmore blaze has claimed 13 homes so far as it continues to burn out of control in Melbourne's north.
At least 40 homes have been destroyed in the latest Victorian fires, but that number is expected to rise as residents return to their properties.
Victorian Bushfire Response Minister Kim Wells hailed the extraordinary efforts of firefighters as they continued their fight across the 23,000-hectare fire ground at Kilmore.
"When you compare it to the worst conditions since 2009, this has been an extraordinary effort by emergency services and every single person involved deserves every credit by every person in Victoria," Mr Wells said on Thursday.
"They have gone to the end of the line to protect houses and lives."
Firefighters have welcomed milder conditions and hope to have the Kilmore fire under control within the next 24 hours.
CFA operations officer Justin Dally said crews had spent the last day consolidating previous efforts and ensuring control lines were well-established.
"The danger is reducing ... we're hoping we will be able to contain this fire within the next 24 hours," Mr Dally said.
"Having said that, without significant rain this fire will still need work for weeks.
"The threat from bushfires is not over, so if you were not impacted in this fire there is still an ongoing threat from bushfires in Victoria."
The firefighters injured while battling the Kilmore blaze are all expected to make a full recovery.
Across the state, bushfires continue to burn out of control in the Gippsland region and at the Latrobe Valley but those fires have been contained, the State Control Centre said.
More than 140 CFA and MFB members are battling the Hazelwood open mine fire, and have concentrated their efforts on preventing smoke from wafting across the state.
While rain is forecast for parts of the state in coming days, it is not expected to help firefighters.
