The massive bushfire at Victoria's Grampians National Park has continued to burn for almost 10 days, and is now over 74,000 hectares in size, 15 times larger than it was late last week. 

Roads have been closed, firefighters are struggling to control the blaze, and locals in the southeast section of the national park were advised that it is too late to leave and to take shelter as of 7am Friday.  

Gusty northerly winds, Extreme Fire Danger Ratings and temperatures nearly 10°C above the monthly average elevated fire weather significantly on Thursday. Locations across central Victoria saw the highest Forest Fire Danger index (FFDI) Ratings since the Black Summer fires of 2019-2020.  

• A wind gust of 76km/h was observed at the Grampians National Park in the early hours of Boxing Day 

• Close to the national park, temperatures climbed to 36°C at Horsham and Stawell and 34°C at Hamilton. 

Image: Extreme fire danger ratings and Total Fire Bans through much of Victoria and southeast South Australia on Boxing Day, with wind streamlines and mean sea level pressure. 

As we observed last weekend, a southerly wind change exacerbated the fire and made it more difficult to control. On Boxing Day, winds were initially gusty northerly, before a gradual swing to light to moderate westerlies which persisted overnight. With winds being less gusty today, we can expect better conditions for containing the blaze along with milder temperatures and higher humidity. 

Image: 24-hour observations for Stawell, near the Grampians National Park, showing the gusty northerlies tending light to moderate westerly overnight. 

Victoria's South West district has High Fire Danger Ratings on Friday, dropping to Moderate over the weekend. Even more good news is the chance of showers for the region on Saturday afternoon. 

However, the fire is still taking a toll on the community and surrounds, and warnings from VicEmergency should be adhered to.