Tens of thousands of residents have spent two days in darkness after dozens of power pole fires in Melbourne.

Power companies have blamed a combination of dry air, dust and rain for a series of power pole fires sparking up over the weekend.

Initial reports said over 50,000 had been cut off by the fires, with about 10,000 customers in the city's north and about 8,000 in the east still without power at last word.

The various companies that supply electricity to the large section of the city say they are working to reconnect customers as quickly as possible.

Of most concern for public safety were traffic lights and railway boom gates, many of which stopped working for significant periods of time.

There are no reports of accidents or damage occurring as a result of the fires.

Trains on some lines faced lengthy delays, but it now appears that all signalling has been checked and repaired.

Melbourne’s Metropolitan Fire Board (MFB) says there were more than fifty calls about the fires on Saturday night.