Vic fire crews busy as warm weather looms

Victorian fire crews are strengthening containment lines around the Lancefield bushfire ahead of warmer weather later this week.

Firefighters are strengthening containment lines around a major central Victorian bushfire ahead of a return of hot weather later this week.

The Lancefield bushfire has destroyed four homes and more than 3100 hectares of land.

It began when a controlled burn on public land near Lancefield jumped containment lines in hot weather and high winds six days ago.

Incident controller Peter West said more than 100 firefighters finished containing the fire on Monday afternoon and containment lines will be consolidated through the week ahead of strong winds and temperatures into the 30s on Thursday and Friday.

"We're confident, but we're not complacent, and we will certainly remain vigilant," he told AAP.

"If we can get through those two days, we'll be looking pretty good."

All roads in the area were open again but he warned visibility was still affected by smoke.

Victorian Environment Minister Lisa Neville says insurance teams have begun working with affected residents in a bid to compensate them quickly for losses.

She said while last week the focus was on containing the fire, this week it will be on recovery, supporting the community and moving on with the independent investigation into how the fire got out of control.

The report, which will be made public, is expected to be compiled in about three to four weeks.


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Source: AAP


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