Yackandandah residents are nervously waiting to see if their town will escape the threat posed by the large Beechworth blaze in Victoria's northeast.
People are desperately hoping no strong southerly winds will push the 30,000-hectare blaze towards their town, Yackandandah newsagency owner James Lacey said.
"People are nervous, we are at the mercy of the weather, if things stay benign we should be okay," he said.
"If we get southerly winds we might be in trouble. It's a waiting game and I think that messes with people's heads."
He said residents had started packing up and sending children to the safety of relatives' homes.
"All the schools are closed, many roads are too, so that affects bus routes," he said.
"I am trading as normal, as are a lot of people, and I will stay because our home is reasonably defensible.
"It is on open ground, it's brick veneer, we have a reasonable water supply and it would be hard for the fire to gather momentum, although a lot of people might have thought the same before the weekend."
The same region in Victoria's northeast was hit hard by bushfires in 2003.
Glenda Elliott, who runs the nearby Kangaloola Wildlife Shelter, said as soon as she saw an ember she would pack the scores of native animals she cares for onto her ute and take them down a mine shaft as she did in 2003.
"We are on high alert, the fires are probably only 5km away," she told AAP.
"The hardest part is the lack of visibility because of the smoke, so we can't see where the fires are."
Fire flares up near Glenhope
Residents of the Glenhope area in central Victoria have been warned a section of the Redesdale fire has flared up and could impact their town.
The Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) issued the warning at 12.30pm (AEDT) on Monday, saying the fire was burning in a northeasterly direction in the Watchbox Road area.
It is part of what has been called the Redesdale-Coliban Park Road fire.
The Country Fire Authority (CFA) and DSE have directed additional tankers and two water bombing aircraft to the area.
Parts of the Heathcote-Kyneton Road have been closed between Redesdale and Langley and smaller roads in the Glenhope area may be subject to closure, the DSE warning states.
Gippsland still on high alert
Victoria's Gippsland residents remain on alert as the Churchill bushfires continue to blaze throughout the region.
The Churchill fires have so far burnt an estimated 32,000 hectares, a Country Fire Authority (CFA) spokeswoman said.
Communities remaining on alert and ready to activate their bushfire plans are Hazelwood South, Jeeralang and surrounds, Balook, Le Roy, Jumbuck, Valley View Budgree East, Traralgon South, Callignee and surrounds, Carrajung Lower, Won Wron, Woodside, Devon North, Yarram, Calrossie, Alberton, Tarraville, Port Albert, Langsborough, Manns Beach and Robertsons Beach.
The CFA said fire crews had patrolled the fire area overnight and strengthened the fire break line south of Loy Yang with bulldozers.
CFA community meetings will be held at Rosedale Town Hall on Monday at 6pm (AEDT) and Longford Town Hall at 7.30pm.
At least 10 people are confirmed dead so far in the Gippsland fires.
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