Homeowners on Melbourne's outskirts are being warned to clean up their properties and get ready for an earlier-than-usual bushfire season.
The worst months for fires are normally January and February but a drier-than-average winter has left an underlying dryness in the soil, MFB Acting Chief Officer Greg Leach says.
"Our biggest concern this year is East Gippsland as the forests there are drier and they haven't had as much rainfall as they normally would," Mr Leach told AAP ahead of an emergency management personnel meeting in Melbourne on Thursday.
The fire danger period has already been declared in parts of Gippsland - which has already had several significant blazes this year - and it will spread across Victoria as the countryside dries out.
Fire agencies are warning Victorians to clean up around their houses ahead of the "above normal" fire season and prepare fire emergency evacuation plans.
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"People need to take the opportunity while the weather is a bit cooler over the next couple of weeks to reduce the amount of vegetation and fuel around your property and clean your gutters," Mr Leach said.
"And this applies for people that live on the outskirts of Melbourne - grass fires and bushfires aren't just something that happens in rural and regional Victoria."
Victoria will have its largest ever fleet of 49 firefighting aircraft this fire season, made up of water bombers and intelligence gathering aircraft.
