The Daylesford pool reported its busiest weekend of the season, with 920 people through the gates.

Clunes had 340 pool-goers and at Trentham there were 300.

Daylesford pool duty manager Adric Morrison said kids and adults alike were having a ball in the water.

The region recorded its hottest weather since the lead-up to the bushfires at the end of last January.

Bureau of Meteorology duty forecaster Stuart Coombs said fire danger ratings around Ballarat on Monday had moved into the severe range.

The bureau also issued its first catastrophic code red warning (for the Wimmera region) on Sunday.

Here in the Hepburn Shire, as temperatures climbed into the high 30s on Monday (the third day in a row of extreme temperatures), there were reports of residents packing up and evacuating their homes.

CFA Community Education Coordinator for Region 15 Chris Carey said it showed residents were being cautious.

He said people did not need to wait for Code red to evacuate.

"Code red is our worst day but a lot of fires will occur in very high, severe or extreme fire danger rating days," he said.

He said people need to decide what fire danger ratings they are comfortable with, to stay alert, be informed and have a fire plan.