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Four emergency warnings are in place as dangerous winds fan bushfires in Victoria’s east, threatening lives and properties.

Holidaymakers and residents in the Gippsland Lakes hamlet of Loch Sport, just south of Bairnsdale, have been told it is too late to leave and to take shelter immediately as a grass fire approaches.

Emergency warnings are in place in several parts of eastern Victoria on Sunday.Credit: Victorian Government/AAP

“You are in danger, act now to protect yourself,” said the VicEmergency alert issued just before 2pm.

“It is too late to leave. The safest option is to take shelter indoors immediately.”

A wind change is pushing the fire towards the town, the message says.

Another, larger blaze is alight west of Bairnsdale in Gippsland.

An “evacuate immediately” message has been issued for the out-of-control Biragolong fire at the foot of the Great Dividing Range, believed to have been sparked by a campfire.

A “watch and act, prepare to evacuate” message is also in place for the towns of Erica and Rawson, closer towards Melbourne near Mount Baw Baw.

A fourth fire has sparked an emergency warning for the Forge Creek area south of Bairnsdale, across the water from the Loch Sport township threatened by its own separate blaze.

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