Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs Residents in Chapple Vale, Crowes, Lavers Hill, Wangerrip and Yuulong were told to stay informed and keep watch on the conditions and emergency services alerts.Forest Fire Management Victoria acting chief officer Aaron Kennedy said parts of the Great Otway National Park were closed, including walking trails. Campers and 10 hikers were evacuated.The Great Ocean Walk was open around lunchtime, but authorities said that could change. Hikers along the walk were earlier told to seek shelter in ploughed paddocks, football ovals, large bodies of water or inground pools.“At the moment, the fire’s actually all within the national park – it hasn’t left public land – so we’re working really hard to keep it in there,” Kennedy said.Smoke from the Gellibrand fire on Saturday afternoon.Credit: NineA community fire refuge has been set up at Otway CFA in Lavers Hill, about 15 kilometres from the coast.State Control Centre spokesman Luke Heagerty said firefighter crews were facing challenges on the ground.“It’s really about getting into some really difficult-to-access country. That’s a big ask for our crews – it can be slow and tough work,” Heagerty said.“Getting them in there safely today and working on the containment of that fire is important for us.”Firefighters hoped to take advantage of the increased moisture in the air on Sunday to make sure the fire was fully contained, Heagerty said. For residents, the safest option was to leave now because there was one major road in and out.“The secondary part to that guidance is that we know that’s an area of the state that people travel to regularly as tourists, and so [we are] reinforcing that people should ideally be avoiding that area today until that situation changes,” he said.Lightning and thunderstorms hit western Victoria on Sunday morning, and gusts of up to 90km/h were forecast for the south-west coast in evening.Winds in the state’s west would persist through until Sunday night, Keris Arndt, of the Bureau of Meteorology, said.“It is definitely concerning that we have seen lightning through that part of the state where we have obviously seen fire conditions already,” Arndt said.“With the elevated westerly winds this afternoon, it is going to pose an impact.”The Great Ocean Road was open on Sunday morning, but there were traffic management points in place.A fire near Victoria’s border with South Australia meant residents of Chetwynd and Kadnook were warned it was not safe to return. A warning for nearby Connewirricoo was downgraded on Sunday.Heagerty said given a change in weather conditions there, crews were working on Sunday to ensure the fire was fully contained, and to assess the damage.More than 1250 hectares have burnt in Kadnook, and authorities have confirmed that one house was destroyed. Another two are believed to have been lost in that blaze.A fire engulfed a privately owned blue gum plantation in Kadnook on Saturday and was still out of control late on Sunday afternoon.Vic Emergency warned that strong winds were expected there through most of Sunday, while the fire’s southern section was in the Ganoo Ganoo Bushland Reserve west of the Chetwynd River.Several other bushfire advice warnings remained in place in Victoria on Sunday.Anyone with health concerns because of the smoke should seek medical advice, Vic Emergency said.“People need to get their heads into the game that summer is here,” Heagerty said. “[They] need to have fire plans ready to go, and they need to be aware that things can change pretty quickly, particularly when things are as dry as they have been.”Heavy rainfall and possible flash flooding were forecast for parts of north-east Victoria on Sunday, while the State Emergency Service fielded more than 70 calls for help from Shepparton residents.Six-hourly rainfall totals of up 80 millimetres were forecast in the north-east, along with 24-hour totals of up to 100 millimetres with thunderstorms and damaging winds.Mount Hotham recorded a wind gust of 148km/h about 10.30am on Sunday.Our Breaking News Alert will notify you of significant breaking news when it happens. Get it here.
