Brisbane Times

At 5pm, authorities issued evacuation warnings for Kinglake and Marysville, heavily forested towns to Alexandra’s south – not far from Melbourne’s urban fringe.

Both were decimated in the Black Saturday bushfires in 2009.

More than 100,000 properties are out of power across the state, with the disruptions forcing the closure of businesses and community facilities across Melbourne.

What initially started with power outages in the regional towns of Kyneton and Wallan has since expanded to include sections of Melbourne.