VicRoads said while the highway remained open, it advised motorists to delay driving in the area because large plumes of smoke were affecting visibility on the Princes Freeway in the Little River area.

“If you are in the area, turn your headlights on, close windows and set air conditioning to recirculation,” a VicRoads spokespereson said.

“Be on alert for emergency vehicles and keep well out of their way

“For more info visit http://emergency.vic.gov.au” the spokesperson said.

Forty nine fire appliances are currently fighting the blaze along with air support.

V/Line said the fire at Little River was not expected to affect today’s V/Line services between Warrnambool and Melbourne.

V/Line south-west manager Larissa Scanlon said trains had already been organised to replace coaches today due to track improvement works and extreme heat speed restrictions.

“These temporary speed restrictions would have extended journey times by up to 60 minutes.

“It will be much quicker for our passengers to travel by coach in air-conditioned comfort until tomorrow (Saturday),” Ms Scanlon said.

Track work is being done on the Warrnambool line to install more than 45,000 concrete sleepers on the line between Colac and Warrnambool at a cost of $18 million. The track teams are currently making their way west between Camperdown and Warrnambool. 

V/Line said the track improvement works would provide a more reliable service and reduce the need for more disruptions in the future.