Incredible footage from Victoria Police's helicopter has revealed the size of the bushfire front ravaging East Gippsland.

The Police Airwing was surveying the fires just before midnight on New Year's Eve when the onboard camera – which distinguishes heat sources as light – captured the size of the fire front.

A lone Country Fire Association truck can be seen driving towards the flames, which dwarf the single unit as it monitors the kilometres of flaming scrub.

The Police Airwing was originally tracking a lone firetruck as it made its way towards the fire front. (Victoria Police)

The camera zooms out to show an ocean of flames that resembles a major city lit up at night as viewed from a plane.

To date, more than 50 fires are raging across the state, with the worst burning predominantly in East Gippsland and the alpine region.

Residents of those areas have been told they should leave on Friday, before strong winds and temperatures above 40C forecast for some areas on Saturday.

The camera zooms out to show an ocean of flames that resembles a major city lit up at night as viewed from a plane. (Victoria Police)

"We have a small window of opportunity," Assistant Emergency Services Commissioner Deb Abbott told reporters on Thursday.

"It's a window of opportunity for those people to leave now and we want them to leave now.

"These fires have already caused significant damage. They have caused significant loss and our community needs to act now."

Though Saturday will bring the most bushfire risk, authorities have declared a total fire ban on Friday across East Gippsland and the Wimmera, North East and South West regions.

Locals and tourists holding tight on the Mallacoota wharf as the bushfire passes through the popular seaside summer holiday spot. (Twitter/Siobhan Heanue ‏)

Temperatures are expected to peak in the high 20s and winds will be light, but that does not rule out more fire danger.

"There can be significant fire activity even when conditions are fairly light in terms of winds," said Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Tom Delamotte.

The outlook comes as Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews confirmed on Thursday there are 17 people missing in East Gippsland, none of whom are emergency services personnel.