THE fire danger rating in central and northern Victoria will be listed as severe on Friday for the first time this summer.
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CFA operations officer Chris Jacobsen he expected a number of total fire ban days, with the temperature set to hover around the high 30s to 40 degrees between Friday and next Tuesday.
He warned people to avoid using any machinery and said it was a crucial time to prepare fire plans.
"A string of hot days will dry out the fuel more and create these severe bushfire conditions," he said.
"People need to enact their fire plan, they need to be fully prepared for the next two weeks of weather."
Bureau of Meteorology duty forecaster Michael Halfpenny said Bendigo was set to sizzle over the next week and there was no change in sight.
He said it wasn’t unusual for the region to experience 40 degree weather during January.
“January is the hottest month of the year for Bendigo, the monthly average is 29.6 degrees,” he said.
Mr Halfpenny said it was rare to have a run of consecutive 40 degree weather days.
“Although Bendigo is not expected to have days in a row with weather over 40 degrees, the weather will reach the high 30s,” he said.
Ambulance Victoria is warning residents to avoid heat exhaustion by drinking more water.
Ambulance Victoria also encouraged residents to avoid exposure to the heat and to check on neighbours who are over the age of 65.
A Bendigo Health spokesperson said drinking fluids and avoiding the afternoon heat would be the best thing to combat the heat.
To see what the fire danger rating is in your area visit the CFA website.