Victoria bushfires LIVE updates: Homes destroyed as devastating fires rip by iconic Aussie vacationer hotspot, with temperatures set to prime 50C at present – and consultants warn: ‘It will solely worsen’

Several towns in NSW have already passed 40C at 11am.

Ivanhoe in the state’s west is the hottest place in NSW at the moment, hitting 40.9C after 9am.

It is forecast to soar to a maximum of 48C today.

The observation station at Hay airport in southwestern NSW was also extremely hot with temps of 40.5C recorded before 10am.

White Cliffs in the state’s northwest is expected to hit a maximum 48.9C today.

The opal mining town was sitting at 39.3C at 10am.

Fresh video footage (below) depicts the extent brave firefighting crews have taken to stop the infernos.

Residents in some areas of the Otways, in southwest Victoria, have been ordered to evacuate as bushfires ravage the region.

A blaze near Colac has now claimed 11,300 hectares and destroyed at least buildings.

Firefighters from every Australian state and territory, as well as teams from Canada and New Zealand, have been brought to Victoria to fight more than a dozen blazes.

Smoke from Victoria’s raging bushfires drifted over parts of Sydney this morning as firefighters continue to battle major blazes in the Otways.

A fire at Carlisle River (below) is causing significant smoke.

The NSW Rural Fire Service says coastal areas are most likely to be impacted with conditions to clear by midday.

‘We should see that smell of smoke start to ease as the winds pick up over the course of the day and that smoke will clear,’ a NSW RFS spokesperson said.

Canadian firefighters have arrived in Victoria to join the bushfire fight.

It’s understood the firefighters may be deployed in Victoria’s north as heatwave conditions continue.

Forest Fire Management Victoria state agency commander Dave Sayce told ABC Melbourne 774 the Canadian crews arrived yesterday and today.

‘Some of these men and woman from British Columbia and Alberta are of course coming from their winter, to near-on -35 degrees,’ Mr Sayce told 3AW.

‘Some of these crews are likely to be deployed up to the north of the state which is still in extreme heatwave conditions.’

The Canadian firefighters are among about about 1,300 overseas and interstate firefighters who have joined Victoria’s firefighting efforts in recent weeks.

This includes specialist personnel from New Zealand who have linked up with regional Victorian firefighters (below).

‘If you can imagine being in full PPE against radiant heat with those temperatures, it was certainly very tough,’ he said.

NSW Ambulance is urging residents to limit their time outside as heatwave warnings continue to apply in parts of NSW.

Temperatures are set to hit the low-mid 40s in the Central West Slopes, while Dubbo, in Western NSW is set to reach 44C after a record 46.1C on Tuesday.

Broken Hill is expected top 45C by midday after enduring its hottest day on record with temps hitting reached 47.8C on Tuesday.

Residents in the Snowy Mountains and the Upper Western, which the Daily Mail previously reported will experience severe heatwaves, are also urged to stay hydrated and monitor for signs of heat-related illnesses.

CFA chief officer Jason Heffernan told 3AW this morning that communities surrounding the Carlisle River fire in the Otways (below) ‘could be allowed back into the area’.

Mr Heffernan also said there will be ‘updates to evacuation warnings due later this morning’.

‘The Carlisle River fire late yesterday afternoon broke its containment and made another run to the east of that fire ground back into the community of Gellibrand and firefighters were actively protecting property and working hard to contain that fire,’ he said.

‘Today, with cooler temperatures across that fire ground and a southerly wind, we will be back into it and trying to contain that ahead of anticipated warmer weather later on in the week.

‘I do anticipate we will be reviewing the warnings that are currently on the Vic Emergency app in the next couple of hours so communities who are currently under evacuate now orders are likely to see a change in that warning.

‘I do anticipate that with the passing of the peak fire threat, that many of the communities, more broadly in the surrounding areas, that their warning will change in the next couple of hours and communities will be allowed back into that area.

‘But naturally with any fire in the landscape we are asking people to remain vigilant. We’re still encouraging communities around that fire to keep an eye on the Vic Emergency app.’

Dozens of homes are at risk as multiple out-of-control bushfires rage across Victoria.

As of 6am Wednesday, residents in Gellibrand, Barongarook, Barongarook West, Kawarren, Carlisle River, Gerangamete were warned to take shelter now due to the Carlisle River blaze in the Otways which threatening people’s lives and properties.

Emergency services have advised the safest option remains taking shelter indoors as it is too late to leave.

Residents in the nearby towns of Barwon Downs, Benwerrin, Coram, Murroon, Tulloh, Yeodene,Pennyroyal, Beech Forest, Chapple Vale, Charleys Creek, Crowes, Dinmont, Ferguson, Graham Junction, Kincaid, Lavers Hill, Mount Sabine, Pile Siding, Stalker, Tanybryn, Weeaproinah, Wimba and Wyelangta were told to evacuate immediately just before 3.30am on Wednesday.

CFA firemen fought the Carlisle River fire overnight (below).

Widespread power outages are still impacting people across Victoria as a result of the extreme weather.

As of Wednesday morning, tens of thousands of residents have recorded unplanned power outages including at least 14,400 customers of Ausnet – which covers the state’s east.

There have also been impacts on customers of Powercor in west Victoria, Jemena, which covers parts of Melbourne, and United Energy, which runs parts of the city’s east and the Mornington Peninsula.

The number is significantly lower than the 100,000 people left without power on Tuesday, after some services were restored overnight.

It comes as Barwon Water has issued a warning for people in the town of Gellibrand, near the Otway Ranges, where the bushfire continues to claim hectares of land.

‘Due to bushfire damage the Gellibrand water treatment plant is unable to continue to supply water to Gellibrand,’ the water company said on Tuesday night.

‘This means by the early hours of Wednesday 28 January there will be no tap water available in Gellibrand, and the remaining water remains unsafe to drink.

‘We are working with emergency services to determine a safe time to inspect our water infrastructure so that we can begin work to restore tap water to Gellibrand residents.

‘We will set up alternative water supplies for residents in Gellibrand once it is safe to return while we undertake the repair work.’

Heatwave conditions are set to continue across inland regions of south-east Australia through Wednesday.

Emergency services are expecting another four days of above 40C temperatures and overnight temperatures in the mid-20s in the north of the state.

Severe heatwave warnings have also been issued for Mallee, Wimmera, Northern Country, East Gippsland, West and South Gippsland and the North Central.

Severe heat is also expected to hit parts of NSW and Queensland, with the outback town Thargomindah in Queensland forecast to reach 49C.

The Bureau of Meteorology said severe heatwave conditions were expected to peak on Tuesday and Wednesday, with a slight easing into the weekend.

In NSW, the BoM issued an extreme heatwave warning for the Snowy Mountains, South West Slopes and the Upper Western.

The towns of Tibooburra, Ivanhoe and Wilcannia are predicted to get up to 48C.

A Total Fire Ban has also been declared for the Central Ranges, NSW, on Wednesday due to the forecast hot, dry and windy conditions.

Residents in some areas of the Otways, in southern Victoria, have been ordered to evacuate as bushfires ravage the region.

A blaze near Colac has now claimed 11,300 hectares and destroyed at least buildings.

‘When it is safe to do so, assessments will get underway in the fire grounds,’ a spokesman from the State Control Centre told the Sydney Morning Herald.

‘The fire broke further containment lines on Tuesday during that southwesterly change. There were 70km/h winds forecast, which have eased overnight.’

Barwon Water also warned that, due to bushfire damage, the Gellibrand water treatment plant is unable to continue to supply water to Gellibrand, near the Colac fire in the Otways.

This means that by Wednesday there will be no tap water available in Gellibrand, and the remaining water remains unsafe to drink.

It comes as firefighters from every Australian state and territory, as well as teams from Canada and New Zealand, have been brought to Victoria to fight more than a dozen blazes.