Residents in Caveat, Dropmore, Ruffy, Tarcombe, and Terip Terip have been urged to evacuate immediately as a fire originating in Longwood moves rapidly southeast toward Ruffy.

On Wednesday, Melbourne experienced its hottest day in six years, with temperatures soaring to 41 degrees Celsius.

Melbourne wasn’t the only area experiencing extreme heat. Longerenong hit 44.3°C, Edenhope reached 42.6°C, Hamilton recorded 41.8°C, and Casterton saw the thermometer climb to 41.6°C, marking their hottest days since 2019.

The sweltering conditions are part of a three-day heatwave that began on Wednesday and are expected to become even more intense as the week progresses.

Forecasts predict that by Friday, temperatures in Mildura, located in the state’s northwest, could soar to 45°C. This would mark the first time since 2018 that the region has endured a three-day stretch of temperatures exceeding 44 degrees.

In the north-east, near Albury-Wodonga, temperatures are forecasted to reach 43C and Melbourne could see hotter conditions than its 41 on Wednesday.

Weatherzone warns that the extreme heat will couple with strengthening north-north-westerly winds ahead of a cold front, which will spark the worst of the fire danger across Victoria.

They predict “catastrophic fire danger” on Friday for the Wimmera, Northern Country and North Central districts, while the rest of Victoria remains at the “extreme fire danger” category for the end of the week.

Forest Fire Management Victoria Chief Fire Officer Chris Hardman feared Friday’s conditions could see “lots of assets lost”.

“With the conditions we have ahead of us, these fires will not be able to be suppressed,” he said.

Total fire bans are in place across large parts of the state but forecasters predict thunderstorms and dry lightning could spark blazes and winds could propel the fires.

”If we can’t catch those fires when they’re small, and I mean really small, one tree burning, through lightning, those fires are going to get big and have dreadful impacts on the community,” Hardman added.

The Bureau of Meteorology has heatwave and fire weather warnings in place.