It comes despite acknowledgement that the district is hotter and drier than others.

Bendigo is at the heart of Forest Fire Management Victoria's Murray Goldfields fire district, which spans from Rushworth to St Arnaud, and Swan Hill down to Macedon.

"The forests throughout the Murray Goldfields district produce lower fuel loads than other types of forests in the rest of the state," a government spokesperson said.

"All fire towers in the district were manned yesterday."

Forest Fire Management Victoria operates 65 fire towers across the state, eight of which are in the Murray Goldfields district.

Fire lookout observers are called to man the fire towers depending on the Fire Danger Index each day.

Forest Fire Management Victoria regional manager Paul Bates said the numbering system provided a guide on how easy it would be for a fire to start, how quickly a fire would spread, and how hard it would be to put out.

"The FDI changes day-to-day depending on the weather conditions," he said.

The Bureau of Meteorology calculates the index based on temperature, humidity, wind speed and how dry fuels are.

Fire towers in Murray Goldfields are staffed when the FDI is 16 or above in the fire danger period.

But every other fire tower in the state is manned when the FDI is 12.

"In the Murray Goldfields it is a hotter and drier district than the other districts with fire towers therefore we activate them at an FDI of 16," Mr Bates said.

During Thursday's Code Red day for north central Victoria, the FDI was as high as 100 in places like Echuca and Kerang.

Fire danger ratings are determined through the FDI.

If at least 10 per cent of the district has an FDI over 50, the fire danger rating will be severe.

An FDI of 16 falls into the high fire danger rating.

Reflecting on Thursday's Code Red Day, Premier Daniel Andrews yesterday said it was a "genuinely difficult" day, but "it could have been so much worse."

"We are facing unparalleled conditions in terms of drought, the dryness and amount of fuel that's out there at the moment," Mr Andrews told media in Wodonga.

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