SYDNEY, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- Firefighters were facing difficulty as they battled blazes across the Australian state of Victoria on Thursday, and braced for further challenging conditions, Victoria Emergency Management Commissioner Rick Nugent said.

A total fire ban was in place across Victoria, as high temperatures and strong winds were expected to create the worst conditions for bushfires seen in years.

Nugent told reporters that gusty northerly winds were pushing some of the fire at the Grampians National Park south in Victoria.

"It's also making it difficult for any new starts that occur across the state, which (we) have had a number of already," he said.

"This will be followed by a change in wind conditions that will move across to the southwest ... which, again, (makes) it really problematic for firefighters with any of those existing fires."

The Grampians National Park fire has already burnt about 55,000 hectares of land, causing significant damage including environmental damage, livestock losses, and damage to outbuildings and sheds.

"We have no reports as yet of residential homes (destroyed), but there are many residents (at the) Grampians, so I wouldn't be surprised at some point if we do have residential losses," he said.

Luke Heagerty from Victoria's State Control Center said the situation at the Grampians was changing rapidly.

"We've seen significant fire development this afternoon as we anticipated, with that wind change really starting to affect parts of the fire ground," he said.

"We've seen expansion of the fire to the southeast this morning, and early this afternoon with the northwesterly winds."

He said this afternoon's winds knocked down trees, which may impact people trying to leave the area. Enditem

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