Residents in parts of Victoria's East Gippsland region have been told to take shelter indoors because it's too late to flee the threat of bushfire.
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Alerts were issued on Monday for the towns of Holstons, Reedy Flat and Ensay North, about 350km east of Melbourne.
The centres lay in the path of a bushfire burning in a northwesterly direction.
After a hot day when temperatures peaked in the high 30Cs, ongoing unstable weather conditions were forecast to continue through the night.
Eleven out-of-control fires continued to burn across the region, including two which have prompted watch and act warnings.
Across the state, Vic Emergency reports 12 bushfires continue to burn.
Eastern parts of Victoria have been hit by several bushfires in the past few weeks.
A 69-year-old man died earlier in December at the fires near Gelantipy, Gippsland.
On Sunday Victoria's Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp said more than 32,000 hectares of land was on fire.
The Bureau of Meteorology forecast temperatures between 16C and 23C for East Gippsland on Tuesday, with areas of smoke haze in the west.
Melbourne topped 35C late on Monday when hundreds of commuters on a busy rail line were forced to queue in the sweltering heat for replacement buses.
Services along a section of the Frankston line were suspended, with Metro Trains blaming an overhead power fault.
Australian Associated Press
