No fire can be lit in the open air from 12:01am on 4 January 2013 until 11:59pm.

Tomorrow will see the start of a string of hot days with temperatures over 40 degrees in most parts of the state and northerly winds at about 40 – 50kms.

It will be hot and dry and windy with an extreme fire danger rating in the south west, Wimmera and Central – the first for this season. It will be a severe fire danger rating in the rest of the state.

To find out what you can and can’t do on a day of Total Fire Ban, please visit www.cfa.vic.gov.au/warnings-restrictions/can/