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THREE firefighters have been injured while battling a grassfire west of Melbourne.
The firefighters were hurt while fighting the fast-moving grassfire at Dereel, near Ballarat, CFA chief officer Euan Ferguson said. All had been taken to hospital.
The CFA said a separate bushfire at Officer in Melbourne's heavily populated outer east was threatening a major electricity connection between Melbourne and the Latrobe Valley.
Mr Ferguson said firefighters were working to actively defend about 12 homes near the Dereel fire.
There were unconfirmed reports of a home being destroyed, he said.
"The risk that more dwellings may be affected and perhaps even destroyed by fire around Dereel is very real," he told ABC TV.
An emergency warning was in place for the Dereel fire.
The CFA says the blaze was heading south, and was likely to impact the communities of Dereel and Corindhap.
Meanwhile, Mr Ferguson said crews at Officer were working to protect a major electricity connection between the city and power generators in the Latrobe Valley.
"That'll be a critical asset that we're trying to prevent the fire from influencing," he said.
The CFA downgraded the threat level posed by the fire from an emergency warning to a watch and act a short time later, saying the fire had been contained.
Australian Energy Market Operator spokesman said Joe Adamo said the fire did not pose a threat to Melbourne's electricity supply.
An emergency warning was also issued for a separate bushfire at Hallston, east of Melbourne.
The CFA said the fast-moving, out-of-control fire would threaten the communities of Hallston, Dickies Hill Junction, Allambee South, Berrys Creek before 8pm (AEDT).
The fire was burning across 312 hectares and is creating spot fires a kilometre ahead of the front, the CFA said.
Victoria experienced temperatures in the 30s today with strong northerly winds in many areas.
Mr Ferguson said he was concerned about the impact of a wind change due to hit parts of the state on Wednesday night.
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