00:00Looming danger, leading to a Christmas message no one wanted.
00:07Residents south of Pomona have been issued with a leave immediately warning.
00:12This bushfire emergency comes less than a year since another blaze destroyed 46 homes near the town in Victoria's West.
00:20Anxiety levels between the brigade members and the local community are pretty high.
00:27Crews have battled this fire in the Grampians National Park for a week.
00:31Its steep, dry, dense terrain is making containment a challenge.
00:35A spot fire is a chance to break out anywhere. You just don't know when.
00:40Today conditions worsened. Hundreds of firefighters cancelled festive celebrations.
00:45It means time away from family but this is what we've got to do and so we do it.
00:49I'm not really thinking about Christmas. It's about people are the priority.
00:54Alison has left her own farm to save others.
00:58I've got plenty of anxiety but I've been in it long enough to know that this is just going to happen.
01:06If I'm not around at the farm there's no chance of me saving it.
01:12The biggest concern.
01:14Boxing day.
01:15Boxing day.
01:16Boxing day with those really hot temperatures, those really hot northerly winds
01:20and that westerly change that's coming through will be the concern for fire authorities right across Victoria.
01:26Firefighters near Gisborne north of Melbourne are working around the clock.
01:30You might not see anything coming towards you and you feel comfortable
01:34and you think this is burning away from me and then all of a sudden you'll get this wind change
01:38and that finger will turn into a fire front heading towards you.
01:42Some residents are getting out now just to be safe.
01:45My wife and I are in our 90s. My CFA days are long past.
01:50There are also fears new fires could spark up and stretch resources even further.
01:56Authorities are pleading with Victorians to only travel if it's absolutely essential
02:02and no matter where they are to have a fire plan.
02:06Tomorrow will be a day where every Victorian needs to be ready to take action.
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