State Control Centre spokesman David Nugent says the fears of authorities are coming to fruition today as hot winds fan dangerous bushfires across the state.

He told 3AW just after 3pm that Victoria was now moving into the most dangerous part of the day as a northerly wind became a westerly, possibly creating much larger fire fronts.

“We continue to highlight to people that the wind change is one of our most dangerous situations when we have fires going,” he said.

“It is absolutely a really critical time in the day for us.”

He said the Natimuk grass fire had grown to 5000 hectares and the wind change has just hit Horsham.

A more recent emergency alert revealed that blaze had jumped the Wimmera River into Quantong.

Update: https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/victoria-bushfires-live-state-faces-catastrophic-conditions-fires-continue-to-burn-at-longwood-thologolong-20260108-p5nsp7.html?page=1?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=the_age&utm_content=feed&utm_term=metros_social_eds&fbclid=IwY2xjawPNaS9leHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFCd1V4bkVFejExbmN3cWQxc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHsuMNu2p_85Zf2NOLYdU9RDMAo6eDusHvemqxw_FyB5iCCd_FsELJ7hHzXEu_aem_0126mf7E3SO7iPEDB2AAcQ