Residents forced to flee out-of-control bushfires are waiting to count their losses as the blazes cut water in one fire-ravaged town.

An uncontrolled bushfire in Victoria’s Otway Ranges, 200 kilometres south-west of Melbourne, has claimed multiple structures and threatens to raze more following searing temperatures and erratic winds.

The blaze is travelling in a north-easterly direction towards the communities of Gellibrand and Kawarren.

Residents in towns near the Carlisle River fire were told to take shelter immediately early on Wednesday morning, with authorities warning it was too late to leave. That warning has since been downgraded in some areas, but remains in place for others.

At least 16 structures have been destroyed at Gellibrand, it was confirmed on Wednesday afternoon, with two structures and stock lost at Larralea, near Lismore.

Homes in Gellibrand have also been stripped of clean water after the inferno damaged a local treatment plant. Tap-water access was restricted and the remaining water was believed to be unsafe to drink.

Authorities will be working to restore water access and set up alternative supplies once it is safe to return to the area.

Gellibrand local Rob Murphy said he decided to evacuate to Colac at the last moment on Monday.

“I had an agreement with my partner that if the [Country Fire Authority] captain came and told me to leave, I would go,” he said.

“That’s what happened.”

Murphy described the scene at the time as tense while locals weighed up defending their properties or following warnings to evacuate.

He said only a handful of Gellibrand locals ended up staying, but he estimated upwards of 50 held tight in surrounding towns.

A friend who remained in the small town, normally home to a few hundred people, reported back that it “smelled like death” after the blaze claimed local wildlife.

He woke to find a dead sheep slumped at his front door and a farm littered with dead kangaroos, koalas and cattle, Murphy said.

Homes in Gellibrand are without clean water after the inferno. Photo: Geelong City Fire Brigade

The Carlisle River fire has scorched at least 10,500 hectares, having doubled in size since breaching containment lines on Saturday afternoon.

It was one of six major fires burning across the state on Wednesday, including uncontrolled blazes near Walwa in the north-east and Dargo-Wonnangatta in the east.

Authorities have been on high alert as the state’s worst heatwave in nearly two decades reached its peak on Tuesday.

The Mallee towns of Walpeup and Hopetoun recorded Victoria’s all-time hottest temperatures at 48.9 degrees. Health authorities are warning the most dangerous days may still be ahead as communities grapple with consecutive 40-degree days.

More than 25,000 households remained without power early on Wednesday, as distributors warned there could be delays in returning services.

Relief centres are open at multiple locations.

In all more than 430,000 hectares have been burnt across the state, nearing the estimated 450,000 hectares scorched during the Black Saturday fires of 2009.

Residents have claimed more than $200 million in losses from 3123 claims since January 7, the Insurance Council of Australia said. Those figures include property, motor, commercial and business interruption claims, with nearly a third of property losses estimated to be total losses.

–AAP