A raging bushfire tearing through rugged country 25km west of Walwa has sparked a fresh emergency warning in Victoria's north‑east, with residents told to leave immediately in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The alert was issued just after midnight as the fast‑moving blaze roared towards Granya, Bungil, Burrowye, Walwa and nearby communities. 

Authorities warned the fire was out of control, fuelled by dangerous conditions that could shift without warning.

By 6.30am the situation had worsened, and officials urged anyone still in the path of the inferno to take shelter immediately, saying it was now too late for a safe escape.

The crisis comes as fierce winds and scorching heat ignite more than 200 fires across Victoria, destroying at least 300 buildings, including dozens of homes, and leaving entire paddocks of crops and livestock wiped out.  

In the early hours of Sunday, authorities also issued a rapid series of upgraded warnings for communities around Carlisle River, south of Colac, as the fire threat escalated.

Residents in Gellibrand, Kawarren, Barongarook West, Irrewillipe, Irrewillipe East, Chapple Vale, Charleys Creek, Kincaid, Pile Siding and Weeaproinah were all told to leave immediately as the blaze intensified and conditions deteriorated.

Fires continue to burn across Victoria, with fresh outbreaks in the Otways forcing the closure of part of the Great Ocean Road and putting Colac on alert. 

Fierce winds and scorching heat ignite more than 200 fires across Victoria, destroying at least 300 buildings

Police footage released on Sunday shows the scale of destruction across the region

A family and their pet cat were rescued by Victorian Police on Saturday (pictured)

North-east of Melbourne, shifting winds drove the Longwood fire towards Bonnie Doon, heightening concern for Mansfield and surrounding communities.

Victoria Police launched a daring helicopter rescue on Saturday, swooping in to save two generations of a family, along with their treasured cat, after a ferocious bushfire tore through their isolated Caveat property earlier in the week.

The family, who lost their home to a fierce bushfire, spent two terrifying nights sheltering in a shipping container and sleeping in their car before being dramatically rescued by police air crews. 

The 59‑year‑old woman had tried desperately to manage the unfolding crisis on her own after flames wiped out the family home. 

But after two days without help, and growing fears for the health of her elderly mother and uncle, she finally called authorities.

Newly released police footage shows the tense rescue operation from above, with the helicopter descending onto scorched earth.

Smoke still lingered over the blackened terrain as officers helped the stranded family aboard.