Fires continue to burn out of control in the Grampians National Park in Victoria's west after about 10,000 lightning strikes across the state following hot conditions on Monday.
Firefighters were trying to contain the blazes and prevent damage to the national park that is home to about 200 Indigenous rock art sites, State Control Centre spokeswoman Reegan Key said on Friday.
The park contained "the richest concentration of rock art in Victoria" with around 500 Indigenous cultural sites in the area, she said.
About 700 firefighters are trying to limit fire damage with hotter conditions forecast. (Diego Fedele/AAP PHOTOS)
"With three major fires now in the Grampians National Park in the last month, we want to recognise the anxiety and impact these fires are having on the community, but also the traditional owners of this country," Ms Key said.
The region has the largest number of rock art sites in southern Australia and accounts for more than 80 per cent of Victoria's rock art sites.
The Billimina Rock Art site, lin the Wartook Valley, is within bushfire boundaries and features paintings by the Jardwadjali people who camped there.
Horizontal bars arranged in rows are believed to have been used to count events in storytelling or to record the number of days people spent there, with emus, kangaroos and 55 human stick figures featured.
The nearby Manja Shelter features some of the best examples of hand stencils in Victoria with 90 examples, which were believed to have recorded a visit to a site and to renew the ties a person had to a place.
The Grampians National Park remains at real risk after fire burned more than 10,000 hectares. (Diego Fedele/AAP PHOTOS)
Watch and act warnings were in place on Friday for residents of Wartook, Zumsteins, Brimpaen, Mooralla, Woohlpooer, Glenisla, Hynes and the eastern side of Rocklands.
A fire continues to burn at the Little Desert National Park northwest of the Grampians blaze, but the threat has been downgraded, after it claimed a home near the town of Dimboola, a second home further west and an event centre.
Country Fire Authority volunteers are backburning between the western Victorian towns of Dunkeld and Cavendish to create fire breaks in the southern Grampians amid fears fires at either end of the park could meet.
Aircraft, bulldozers and ground crews are removing vegetation to create control lines to prevent fires progressing while spraying areas difficult to reach.
Benign weather conditions on Friday and Saturday will offer firefighters an opportunity to get in and around the fires before an escalation in heat from Sunday, Ms Key said.
For tomorrow's — Bureau of Meteorology, Victoria (@BOM_Vic) #Victoria forecast, skip to 1:48For a Sunday overview, skip to 3:40Latest: https://t.co/vU0V1xcQr4https://t.co/Qsqrm7nRFWJanuary 31, 2025
Temperatures in the area are forecast to be in the mid-30Cs to 40C until Tuesday.
But Ms Key said the absence of strong winds would help firefighters combat the threat.
Financial support was available for people affected by the Little Desert fire along with those living in the Hindmarsh and Horsham shires, Premier Jacinta Allan said.
She pleaded with the community to be aware of local conditions while more than 700 personnel tackled the threats.
"If you haven't already, download the VicEmergency app turn on your local radio and stay tuned ... because we saw with Dimboola that wind change happened incredibly quickly that that township was under attack," Ms Allan said.
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