High temperatures in the southeast of Australia fuelled bushfires, hundreds of people living in country towns were forced to evacuate, and record temperatures were experienced, with Melbourne registering the highest day in almost sixteen years.

In Melbourne, the capital city of the second-most populated state, Victoria, Australia, the temperatures were over 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit).

According to preliminary data published by the Bureau of Meteorology in Victoria, the high in the Mallee country in Western Australia in the northwest of the state was 48.9 C (120 F).

The heat wave – the hottest since the 2009 black Saturday bushfires that claimed the lives of 173 people in the state of Victoria – put fire danger in certain areas of the state at an unprecedented level. The first of the month was still in the recovery period of major bushfires in many communities caused by a major heatwave.

Chris Hardman, chief fire officer of Forest Fire Management Victoria, reported that there were six major fires underway, with three of them out of control.

He claimed that the blaze in the Otways region was the greatest concern to firefighters as it was fast-moving and it was burning an area of 10,000 hectares (24,000 acres), destroying at least three homes.

“The firefighters did so much work to attempt to contain that fire overnight, but with the warmer weather and the inversion breaking, some of the gusty winds began to blow down, and that fire spread beyond its original containment lines,” he said at a news conference.

Strong winds of up to 70 kph (43 mph) are expected in the evening, which Hardman warned against spreading the fire, as it will endanger the houses.

“Change of south-southwesterly wind, we will get,” he said. “It will run, it will take on a plume, it will gain significantly important energy and will become erratic and extreme fire behaviour.”

Heffernan said, “In the past one thousand one hundred and sixty homes have been doorknocked and approximately ten thousand text messages delivered to telephone numbers, urging residents to evacuate the area.”

Cases of total fire bans were declared in Victoria as authorities made an effort to reduce the chances of fresh fires.

The Australian Open tennis Grand Slam organisers in Melbourne announced that matches in the outside courts and roof closures would be under the extreme heat condition protocols. The matches in wheelchairs are delayed till Wednesday.

Temperatures in parts of inland Victoria in rural towns were record-breaking. The highest temperature recorded in the state happened in Hopetoun Airport and Walpeup, both in the Mallee region of the state and were approximately 477km (296 miles) northwest of Melbourne, reaching 48.9 C (120 F).

Butcher Nathan Grayling of the town of Ouyen, told ABC Radio that he would attempt to keep his business as dark and cool as possible, with most people expected to remain at home.

“When we finish all that, we may as well get off early and come down to the local pub and have a beer, ” Grayling said.