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National

Work to bring Flowerdale blaze under control continues as heatwave conditions challenge firefighters

The fire at Flowerdale started on Tuesday and has burned more than 900 hectares of land. (Supplied: CFA)

Fire crews are continuing to battle a grassfire that has razed more than 900 hectares of land at Flowerdale, north of Melbourne.

The blaze started on Tuesday and is yet to be contained, although fire authorities are confident that will be achieved today.

One home, cars and livestock have been destroyed by the fire.

Forecast high temperatures and wind gusts today and tomorrow are expected to make the task of bringing the blaze under control difficult for firefighters already dealing with tricky terrain.

A Watch and Act alert remains in place for Flowerdale, Dairy Creek, Homewood, Kerrisdale and Strath Creek.

A second grassfire is burning out of control at Buangor, west of Ballarat, travelling in a southerly direction from Challicum Hills towards Geelong Road.

A Watch and Act alert is in place for residents of Ballyrogan, Buangor and Challicum.

Country Fire Authority Chief Officer Jason Heffernan said the danger posed by the fires remains.

"It will be challenging for firefighters and I do anticipate those conditions to change and the community in the warning area need to remain alert," he said.

Fire authorities are hopeful of containing the blaze before hot and windy conditions set in. (ABC News)

A total fire ban is expected to be in place tomorrow, with temperatures forecast to reach the mid- to high-30s.

"It doesn't take much for grassfires to start, and we need to be quite mindful of the activities in our community at this time during peak fire danger," Mr Heffernan said.

Yesterday, a man was arrested by police investigating the cause of the Flowerdale fire.

The 71-year-old man was interviewed by Arson Squad detectives and CFA investigators and released pending further enquiries.

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