We'll leave our live coverage of the bushfire situation in Victoria and the heatwaves across the country here.
Head to the ABC News website where we'll continue to bring you the latest.
And for more detailed information on the two out-of-control bushfires in Victoria, head to the VicEmergency website.
Here's an overview of what happened today:
Victorian electricity distributor Powercor is strongly urging customers to plan ahead for tomorrow's extreme weather, with forecasts of high winds and dry lightning that could damage electricity assets and cause localised power outages.
A Total Fire Ban has been declared for Victoria, with severe winds and temperatures exceeding 40C forecast across large areas of the state.
Powercor network emergency manager Steve Rigoni said the forecast winds and lightning could damage electricity assets.
"Tomorrow's conditions are among the most severe we've faced in a long time. We're asking everyone to act now — charge devices, prepare backup plans and make sure you're ready," Mr Rigoni said.
"Our priority is community safety. We'll be operating our network on highly sensitive settings to reduce the risk of starting fires. This means power may be affected if faults occur."
Mr Rigoni warned that power restoration could take longer than usual as crew performed safety checks.
"If an outage happens, crews may need to carry out safety checks and line patrols before restoring power, so restoration can take longer than usual," he said.
Powercor has cancelled all planned work in catastrophic fire danger areas and will modify or cancel most other planned work to ensure power is restored by midday.
ABC radio producer James Findlay took these incredible photos while on a flight from Melbourne to Canberra.
The photos were taken north-east of Albury looking towards the Upper Murray where the Walwa fire is burning.
So far it's burned through more than 9,000 hectares.
There are a number of closures in place for Friday along the Great Ocean Road due to "catastrophic" fire conditions.
The 240-kilometre stretch is located on Victoria's south-west coast.
The closures include:
Healesville Sanctuary will also be closed on Friday.
Lightning caused by the Longwood and Walwa fires in Victoria has resulted in more fires across the state, including north of Orbost in East Gippsland, according to CFA chief officer Jason Heffernan.
An advice message has been issued to Bete Bolong, Brodribb River, Corringle, Jarrahmond, Marlo, Newmerella, Orbost, Simpsons Creek, Waygara and Yalmy due to these fires.
"There is currently no threat to you, but you should stay informed and plan for what you will do if the situation changes," the warning reads.
Earlier today authorities urged anyone camping at Lake Eildon and other public land within the potential impact zones to leave no later than 7am Friday.
Three Watch and Act warnings have been issued for the Longwood fire, which encompass parts of Lake Eildon.
Many people have decided to leave tonight, with a line of cars steadily building.
NSW Ambulance has just issued a Watch and Act for an extreme heatwave from today, affecting:
The Watch and Act area for the Longwood fire has expanded.
Residents in the following areas are being advised to leave now:
Ancona, Barjarg, Boho South, Bonnie Doon, Creek Junction, Dry Creek, Euroa, Gobur, Gooram, Kanumbra, Kelvin View, Kithbrook, Lima East, Lima South, Maindample, Marraweeney, Merton, Sheans Creek, Strathbogie, Strathbogie North, Strathbogie South, Tallangallook, Too-rour and Woodfield.
It is strongly recommended that residents in the following areas prepare to leave:
Alexandra, Devils River, Eildon, Fawcett, Howes Creek, Karralika Heights, Koriella, Lake Eildon, Maindample, Maintongoon, Mansfield, Snobs Creek, Taylor Bay, Thornton, Whanregarwen, Woodfield, Acheron, Burnt Bridge, Cathkin, Ghin Ghin, Jamieson, Kevington, Killingworth,Limestone, Molesworth, Murrindindi, Rubicon, Taggerty, Torbreck Station, and Yea.
Four emergency warnings remain in place.
There's a lot of detail there but for the most up to date advice check the VicEmergency website.
Conditions are expected to worsen in Victoria on Friday with "catastrophic" fire danger forecast for the Wimmera, Northern Country, North Central and South West districts.
You can read more about what to expect here:
Chris Miller from the Department of Transport says the Hume Freeway remains closed in both directions between Seymour and Violet Town, near where the Longwood fire is burning.
"Fire is still impacting the freeway road reserve, the centre median, the large trees around the edges of the freeway as well, which means crews can't get in there to clear some of the trees that have fallen," he says.
"I suppose that means the Hume will be closed certainly for the forseeable future at least."
He has advised motorist to avoid the area all together but says if you need to get through, follow the designated detour route, which is via the Goulburn Valley Freeway and Murchison-Violet Town Road, adding an extra 20 minutes to the journey.
"Please don't trust satellite navigation in this instance. Don't try to find short cuts because you could end up driving straight into a fire front," he says.
"I know a lot of people would automatically just jump onto Google Maps and go, 'Take me here', but Google Maps is trying to be inventive and not necessarily aware of the dangerous conditions in the area."
Near the Walwa fire, the Murray Valley Highway is closed between Bullioh and Berringama
The Murray River Road is also closed between Granya and Walwa.
Keep up to date with all the road closures on the VicTraffic website.