An emergency warning - the highest possible alert - was issued for a blaze west of Goongerah, in East Gippsland, on Monday afternoon (local time) and an evacuation order remains in place.
Another emergency warning, also issued on Monday afternoon, was for a fire burning 13km from Walwa in the northeast, near the New South Wales border.
Emergency warnings have also been issued in East Gippsland for the W Tree fire, Ramrod Creek, Bullumwaal, Clifton Creek, Deptford, Mount Taylor, Waterholes and Fairhope.
The highest alert has also been issued for Suggan Buggan, Buchan, Buchan South and Sunny Point.
Suggan Buggan is a border town, also threatened by out-of-control blazes in NSW.
Similar alerts were already in place on Monday for the Ensay-Barmouth Spur fire, and the Wingan River fire.
The Ensay-Barmouth Spur fire had been two fires but joined overnight and has burnt about 100,000ha.
"It is quite an extreme day for us, really the first really bad day that we've had on this group of fires since they started on the 21st of November," East Gippsland fires incident controller Ben Rankin told reporters at Bairnsdale.
"(It's) comparable almost to Black Saturday in some ways, if the forecast does eventuate as given to us. It is inevitable there will be some significant run of fire today."
Despite the plea for 30,000 holidaymakers in Lakes Entrance to leave on Sunday, the town is unlikely to be impacted by the fires, he said.
Emergency Services Minister Lisa Neville said people should not drive.
"It's too dangerous to be on the roads. The fires in East Gippsland are too dynamic, dangerous and continue to spread very quickly," she said.
The Princes Highway is closed between Cann River and Genoa, while the Great Alpine Road between Bruthen and Ensay could be shut for up to a fortnight.
The highway was briefly closed overnight after a fire developed a 14km plume and created its own lightning, the Bureau of Meteorology's Michael Efron said.
Sixteen fires started in Victoria overnight because of dry lightning, Ms Neville said.
Temperatures soared into the 40s across Victoria on Monday, with a total fire ban in place across the state and extreme fire danger ratings in most regions.
The weather bureau expects strong and gusty winds throughout Monday, as well as thunderstorms that will give way to much cooler air and rain across Victoria.
The temperature hit the forecast top of 43degC in Bairnsdale, before a cool change is due in West Gippsland on Monday night and East Gippsland on Tuesday morning.
Organisers of New Year's Eve events across East Gippsland have cancelled the fireworks displays - not the other activities - at Nicholson River, Metung, Paynesville foreshore and Lakes Entrance.
The hot, windy conditions in Melbourne have prompted the closure of the Werribee Open Range Zoo and organisers of the Falls Festival on Victoria's west coast were forced to cancel the event, with 9000 punters leaving.
Ambulance Victoria said two children and a woman in her 70s were taken to hospitals after being locked in cars on Sunday and reminded people to never leave pets or people in cars.
BUSHFIRES IN OTHER STATES
in South Australia, firefighters are facing catastrophic conditions in the Adelaide Hills, through the mid-north and across to Yorke Peninsula.
Adelaide is forecast to reach 40degC on Monday and firefighters are particularly worried about the potential for breakouts in the blaze burning in the Adelaide Hills.
There are also concerns for a fire on Kangaroo Island which continues to smoulder.
A cool change in the afternoon is causing the most concern, with strong and shifting winds set to heighten the risk of bushfires spreading.
In New South Wales, more than 900 homes have been destroyed but that number is expected to increase with rising temperatures and dry winds forecast to peak on New Year's Eve.
Temperatures are forecast to climb past 40degC in western Sydney and parts of regional NSW by Tuesday, as air pollution in the city's southwest remains at a hazardous level.
A watch and act alert is in place for two fires in remote parts of Western Australia, at the Stirling Range National Park and Higginsville mine site in the state's south.
In Tasmania, residents are urged to remain on high alert as scorching temperatures combined with forecast thunderstorms and winds increase fire risk.
