VICTORIA, Australia - Tens of thousands of residents and holidaymakers in the Australian state of Victoria have been told to evacuate amid worsening bushfire conditions.

Temperatures of over 40C (104F), strong winds, thunderstorms and a change of wind direction meant Monday would be a day of extreme danger, officials said.

Emergencies chief Andrew Crisp said those in the East Gippsland area should leave no later than Monday morning.

More than 100 fires are continuing to burn across Australia.

The biggest are raging near the city of Sydney in New South Wales, where more than a quarter of a million people have signed a petition calling for the New Year's Eve fireworks to be cancelled and the money spent on fighting fires.

In East Gippsland, three fires burning near the towns of Bruthen, Buchan and Bonang were forecast to grow significantly.

Officials said they could burn towards the coast, potentially crossing and cutting off the region's main road.

An estimated 30,000 people are currently holidaying in the threatened area, according to ABC News.

Mr Crisp, Victoria's state emergency management commissioner, said anyone in the area to the east of Bairnsdale - about 280km (175 miles) east of Melbourne - should move.

"What we are saying now, based on the conditions that will be confronting us tomorrow across the state, but in particular in East Gippsland, is that if you're holidaying in that part of the state, it's time that you left," he said.

It was no longer possible to provide assistance to all the visitors in the East Gippsland region, emergency authorities said.(FA)