It has taken until the last day of the year for a high fire danger day to arrive this summer but oppressive, hot weather will hit Victoria on New Year's Eve.
Firefighting services are worried that many people will be holidaying in unfamiliar surroundings - including campers in the bush - as they celebrate New Year's Eve.
Fire Services Commissioner Craig Lapsley urged people to be vigilant, aware of the surroundings and have a bushfire survival plan, such as leaving the area early if necessary.
"The weather bureau has indicated it will be a very hot day in most parts of the state, we'll see a number of locations that will extend into the 40s," he told reporters on Thursday.
He said the heat will continue into the evening although a cooler change move will arrive in the state's southwest late in the afternoon and won't move into central Victoria and Melbourne until late in the evening."
It will also be windy, with speeds around 40km/h which can push fires along.
"The bureau has indicated that the atmosphere itself will be unstable, which means if a fire starts they are sometimes difficult to control, due to the fact that the upper winds and the mixing of the winds can see a very erratic style fire behaviour," Mr Lapsley said.
Police warned people not to use fireworks unless they had a permit from WorkSafe Victoria and not to light fires in the bush.
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