Meticulous preparation and extensive backburning have helped Victoria avoid major bushfire damage despite hot, windy weather, firefighters say.
As at 4pm (AEDT) on Friday, none of the four major ongoing fires had breached control lines while several small fires which broke out during Friday were quickly controlled.
"It just goes to show all the hard work that people put in," said Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) spokesman Kevin Monk.
"We knew today would be hot and windy and people worked their butts off to put in control lines and do backburning. I think that has really paid off."
As authorities warned Friday would have the worst fire conditions since Black Saturday, firefighters acted quickly to control blazes in the state's southwest and to the south of Melbourne on Friday.
"We have also been working on a few small fires that started, we have been able to jump on those fires fairly quickly," Mr Monk said.
Police said a small fire at Arthur's Seat on the Mornington Peninsula was being treated as suspicious and have appealed for witnesses to come forward.
The fire threatened to affect densely populated areas but was brought under control around 2pm (AEDT) Friday after burning around half a hectare.
Three small grass fires 30 kilometres east of Nelson in the state's west were also quickly contained.
About 70 firefighters contained blazes in Framlingham and Timboon near Warrnambool which broke out late on Thursday and burnt about 20 hectares.
The ongoing Murrindindi North and South complexes, the Bunyip fire and the Wilson's Promontory fire were still burning out of control and presenting the biggest concerns but were not threatening properties.
Residents in the Yarra Valley and Warburton Valley, however, have been advised to remain on high alert and have their fire plans ready.
Mr Monk said as the cool change moved across the state there was a chance lightning strikes would cause more fires.
"It is still very dry, it is very windy and we have had a few lightning strikes near Ararat ... there is the possibility that we will get some lightning-caused fires," he said.
Fire crews spent the day blacking out smouldering spots in heavily-forested areas around Daylesford amid continuing fears of new flare-ups.
Four days after the 2,600-hectare Muskvale-Hogans Road blaze ripped through forests south of the central Victorian tourist town, firefighters said they were having to revisit old areas to hose-down smouldering tree trunks.
Incident controllers were nervously watching weather forecasts amid talk of gusty northerly winds whipping up to 50km/h before a late afternoon swing to the southwest, which would push any flames or embers toward townships including Musk and Bullarto.
"If any of these smoulders get some oxygen they'll start all over again," Daylesford CFA crew leader Matt Pearce said.
Cooler weather will set in over the weekend but there were worrying signs of another spell of hot weather and strong winds early next week, with Tuesday expected to be a danger day.
Meanwhile, police have announced the search for remains in three areas ravaged by the February 7 bushfires which claimed at least 210 lives has been completed.
Victoria Police say it is unlikely any more deaths will be recorded from the Churchill and Bendigo fires, while searches around Redesdale have finished.
Eleven people were killed in Churchill in Gippsland and one in Bendigo. No one was killed in Redesdale.
"We are confident the likelihood of finding many more bushfire victims in these regions is low," a police spokeswoman said.
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