Cooler temperatures and a light drizzle helped firefighters contain a blaze which scorched more than 6,500 hectares (16,000-acres) in the Gippsland area of southeastern Victoria state, the Country Fire Authority said.

Emergency crews were making good progress on containment lines around the main blaze but unstable winds were still posing a threat, said incident controller Ben Rankin.

"However it's good conditions, the best we've had up to date," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

The fire authority confirmed that 28 homes in the Darlimurla and Boolarra areas had been destroyed by the fire since Friday and warned that the figure could rise.

The worst heatwave in a century, which left the countryside like a tinderbox, also hit the Victoria state capital Melbourne hard.

More than 500,000 houses and businesses in the city were left without power on Friday night after an electrical substation exploded in the heat and emergency services were stretched to breaking point as people succumbed to the heat.

Temperatures in Victoria topped 43 degrees Celsius (109 Fahrenheit) for a record-breaking third consecutive day on Friday, but dropped from their sizzling peaks to about 30 degrees Celsius on Sunday.

There was also slight relief in neighbouring South Australia, where temperatures in the capital Adelaide were forecast to drop below 40 degrees Celsius for the first time in days.

At least 28 heat-related deaths had been reported by Saturday morning as the city sweltered for almost a week under temperatures which reached 45.7 degrees Celsius on Wednesday.

Despite the slightly cooler temperatures expected, officials urged residents to check on their elderly neighbours.

"We know older people suffer more in the heat, especially those who are already ill with chronic conditions like heart or kidney disease," said state health chief medical officer Paddy Phillips.

earlier related report
Homes razed, chaos in record Australian heatwave
Southeastern Australia faced chaos Friday, as some of the hottest temperatures in a century fanned fires that destroyed homes, claimed lives and strained emergency, power and transport services.

Scores of train services were cut and tens of thousands of homes were without power in the states of Victoria and South Australia, with the mercury topping 46 degrees Celsius (115 Fahrenheit) for a third consecutive day.

"It is an extreme week. The system is not made to operate where you've got temperatures in the suburbs of 46 degrees Celsius," said Victoria's leader, John Brumby, as the heatwave dragged on.

As many as ten homes were razed as wildfires raged in the state's Latrobe Valley, burning through 2,000 hectares (4,900 acres) of forest, grassland and pine plantations, emergency workers said.

In the neighbouring state of South Australia, police said there had been a surge in sudden deaths, with 19 people dying on Friday in the state capital Adelaide, of who 14 were elderly.

"Normally the ambulance service would have just a few [deaths] during a day, so this is a much higher number," said John Hill, South Australia's health minister.

"You've got to draw the conclusion that a lot of them have something related to the effects of heat."

The Australian Open tennis grand slam in Melbourne did not escape the heat, with organisers closing the roof of the Rod Laver Arena to fend off the sun on centre-court and offering players icepacks and longer breaks.

Defending men's champion Novak Djokovic pulled out citing heat exhaustion when the temperature reached 35C on Tuesday and Serena Williams said it was so hot on court she felt like she was having an "out-of-body experience."

The record temperatures -- Victoria's hottest three days since records began -- caused rail lines to buckle and forced the cancellation of hundreds of train services.

All train travel in the state was free to make up for the axing of almost 500 train services due to the heat on Thursday.

Searing temperatures also placed the electricity grid under acute strain, prompting an explosion at a substation in Melbourne, Australia's second-largest city, and resulting in rolling blackouts throughout the region.

Children were sent home from school, tens of thousands of people were estimated to have skipped work and lifesavers worked late into the night for the first time in history as people flocked to the ocean to cool off.

Adelaide is preparing for its longest hot spell since 1908, with forecasters tipping temperatures above 38 degrees for the next seven days. It recorded its hottest ever night on Thursday -- a sweltering minimum of 34 degrees.

Tasmania hit a record temperature of above 40 degrees for the second day in a row on Friday, only the second time in recorded history the southern island state has experienced such heat.

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