He said reports from the EPA revealed air quality had improved significantly.

Mr Baker said favourable weather conditions had also helped crews battling the peat fires at Cobrico and Lake Elingamite.

“The weather has been kind to us and we are now idenitfying hotspots,” Mr Baker said.

He said drones from the Metropolitan Fire Brigade were helping ground crew identify hotspots at Lake Cobrico and Lake Elingamite.

Mr Baker said a lack of rain meant it was unclear when the fires would be put out, but crews were now beginning to focus on recovery and rehabilitation.

“We want to help the communities affected by fires get back to normal,” he said.

“The air is clear, we’ve got residents back home, the kids are back at school – which is good – but we’re not going to pack up and walk away from the fire sites right now.”

Mr Baker said there was still no rain in sight for the region, making it hard to predict when the fires would be extinguished.

Emergency Management commissioner Craig Lapsley said the peat fires were under control.

He said the work done over the past month had been significant.

“We'll wait for the forecast of May and see whether there’s any rain,” Mr Lapsley said.

“We think that you'll need rain to take that final heat out of the ground.”