More than 30 homes have been destroyed by a series of bushfires which have been burning across Victoria for a week.
The number of houses lost was confirmed on Friday after specialist crews assessed fire grounds. The toll could rise further as some blazes continue to burn.
Victoria's highest-risk uncontrolled bushfire in the Bunyip State Park, east of Melbourne, has claimed 29 residential properties, damaged two others and burnt 67 other buildings, Emergency Management Victoria announced on Friday.
Another two properties were claimed in the Yinnar South blaze.
Smoke rises in Victoria's east. Source: AAP
Specialist crews assessing the scale of loss, assessed 447 properties. Prior to the latest count, it was believed nine homes had been lost.
Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp said more than 100,000 hectares of land had been burnt by bushfires across the state since last Thursday.
"A significant number of resources remain committed to tackling fires across the state, including around 2000 firefighters and 61 aircraft," he said, noting 17 fires remained active.
"While a mammoth effort has gone into fighting these fires, there's a lot of work to be done to get the Bunyip and other fires under control, and there is still a lot of smoke in the area."
Bushfires in Victoria. Source: Nine Network
He also urged residents returning home to the bushfire-affected areas to tread carefully and be mindful of changing weather conditions.
While the clean-up continues, smoke is expected to hang over parts of Victoria until Sunday.
An air quality warning has been issued for the northeast and central districts, East, South and West Gippsland, north-central, and the northern country.
"You will see or smell smoke across parts of Victoria. Smoke is a result of fires in southeast Victoria. It may be smoky or hazy in your area," the alert states.
Back-burning is occurring across the state to strengthen containment lines, a joint statement from fire agencies stated.
Share
