A WEDDING planned for Mount Hotham on Friday night has been postponed at the last minute with the alpine resort going into lockdown due to the most severe bushfire threat in the area since 2003.
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The Mount Hotham resort board of management made the decision to make the area off-limits until January 17 to enable the threat of fires burning on the southern side of the mountain to pass.
Resort chief executive Jon Hutchins said more than 20 visitors from Norway were among the guests due to attend the wedding at The General hotel before the pending nuptials called it off after arriving on the mountain on Wednesday.
"To their credit they recognised the situation," he said.
"They actually came to us and said this could be difficult and made arrangements to leave the mountain.
"They are just going to re-schedule, but I do know 25 of their guests have come out from Norway."
Mr Hutchins said firefighters would be the beneficiary of food brought in for the wedding.
The Great Alpine Road between Harrietville and Omeo was closed to the public on Friday, but will be open for firefighting purposes.
Mr Hutchins said between 200 and 300 people were on the mountain on New Year's Eve, but when the first "watch and act" advice came out people responded accordingly and began leaving.
"Everyone has been really co-operative," he said.
"The resort has now just got the CFA team in it along with an emergency management team.
"Between them they have got things pretty much under control.
"It is more the change on Saturday that will be the crucial time, but we are hoping to get a CFA strike team up there this evening.
"We've had successes with the 2003 and other fires and there are staff up there with that experience so we are pretty confident they will do a great job for us."
The Great Alpine Road has been closed south of Mount Hotham since before Christmas due to the East Gippsland fires.
In early January 2003 the main fire in the alpine area burnt more than 13,000 square kilometres over a two-month period and impacted on Bright, Dinner Plain, Omeo, Benambra and Dargo.
Six homes were destroyed by fire on Mount Hotham and another four at Cobungra.
The Mountain Cattlemen's Association of Victoria announced late on Friday its annual get-together, which was scheduled to be held at Merrijig next weekend, has been called off.
Merrijig is located in the Mansfield Shire, which along with Towong, Alpine and Wangaratta have been "state of disaster" areas by Premier Daniel Andrews.
"This is not a decision we have come to lightly," MCAV president Bruce McCormack said.
More than 2000 people were expected to attend.
Fire authorities began strongly recommending residents evacuate communities in the Alpine Valley including Freeburgh, Harrietville, Smoko and Wandiligong.
Victoria Police were supporting evacuations in the area from 4pm on Friday ahead of worsening weather conditions on Saturday.
They are predicted to be extreme, creating fire storm conditions which may not be survivable.
Residents in Wandiligong were being told to leave via Morses Creek Road and head towards Myrtleford or Wangaratta on the Great Alpine Road.
Residents in Harrietville, Smoko and Freeburgh should leave via the Great Alpine Road to Myrtleford or Wangaratta.
