Raging bushfires destroyed homes and forced entire towns to flee Friday on the Great Ocean Road, a well-known tourist attraction in the southern Australian state of Victoria, dpa reported.

More than 100 firefighters and 17 aircraft are battling the blaze, which is spreading thanks to temperatures in the high 30s degrees Celcius.

The popular tourist town of Lorne has been told to evacuate as the fire bears down on them.

"It's a massive plume of smoke - it almost looks like a big nuclear bomb," said a departing Lorne resident, identified only as Mick, to the broadcaster ABC.

The weather is expected to drop overnight as a cold front arrives, giving firefighters a chance to gain control of the fires that cover 1,400 hectares.