Rain has started falling on bushfires raging in eastern Victoria with the focus turning to the threat of flash flooding.
A severe warning has been issued for damaging winds and heavy rain in central and eastern parts of the state, with up to 60mm expected over the Briagolong and Loch Sport fires in Gippsland on Tuesday and Wednesday.
About 700 firefighters have spent the past three days battling the blazes, with one home lost but no reports of serious injury.
CFA Chief Officer Jason Heffernan said burn-offs and unattended flames had contributed to more than 200 individual blazes in the area but the cause of the Briagolong fire, which has grown to 17,500 hectares, was still under investigation.
"I'm not going to speculate on the cause of that fire but we do know unattended campfires and private burns in this part of the state has contributed to some of the fires," he said.
Bureau of Meteorology meteorologist Christie Johnson said up to 100mm could fall on the Eastern Ranges, creating a risk of flash and riverine flooding.
"There is quite a lot of rainfall expected to fall over six to 12 hours so even if it's not that heavy rainfall where you get a huge amount in a short time, it could still be enough to overwhelm gutters," she said.
As of Tuesday afternoon it was too late for residents in Seacombe and Loch Sport in the Gippsland Lakes area to leave because of the ongoing fire threat and communities surrounding the Briagolong were told to evacuate.
There were 250 calls for help to the State Emergency Service on Tuesday but they were mostly from Melburnians concerned about fallen trees.
Gippsland resident Scott Wylie was told to leave his home in Fernbank in central Gippsland because of the fire threat but stayed to protect his livestock and sheds.
His wife and young daughters fled to a nearby town when the smoke became too much early on Tuesday. Mr Wylie insisted he was safe because he had access to water pumps and a good irrigation system to deal with excess water.
The earth-moving contractor believes he's just one of three locals who opted to dig in.
"The reasons we stayed is because the risk is a lot less high than what it is in middle of summer," Mr Wylie told AAP.
"Yes, we've got a 80-100km gusts that was fan-forcing it last night and did carry (the flames over) a lot of land and it is hazardous but we are not tinder dry at this point.
"There's a lot of material out there that still needs to be burnt as we stopped back burning and it is really hard to get permission to do adequate burning."
Briagolong resident Nadine Slade was relieved to see rain finally fall after a long day helping stop spot fires.
"Thank god, I'm lying down for a rest, I've been up since three," she said.
The Rust Emporium antique shop owner said it was bizarre locals were switching from stopping fires to minimising flood impacts on the same day.
"We actually had a flood and fire notifications simultaneously last night. We won't flood in town but we could get cut off if it gets really bad."
Premier Jacinta Allan said a relief centre had been set up at Sale.
"The fire season has come and it's come early," she said.
