A FIRE which burnt through five hectares of Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) land in Eaglehawk yesterday morning is being treated as suspicious by police.
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More than 10 fire trucks were called out to Lester Street near Sailors Gully Road about 9am to attend to the grass and shrub fire.
The fire burnt close to homes on Kirkwood Road, with many concerned residents watching from their front yards.
DSE workers were still blacking out and putting water on the edges of the burnt area until late yesterday afternoon.
They also put a mineral earth break around the circumference of the fire to reduce any possibility of the blaze moving through the area.
DSE district manager Steve Nicholson said a fire investigation team was on the scene late yesterday afternoon.
Mr Nicholson said the nature of the area made it difficult for fire brigades to access.
“It’s sandy, rough ground, and there are a lot of old diggings around there so it’s quite difficult to access,” he said.
“We had done slashing recently which reduced the fire risk and improved access to the area.”
He said the fire was contained before any houses were in danger.
“Any fire in close proximity to houses can be really dangerous so that’s why rapid response is important to eliminate any risk,” Mr Nicholson said.
“It was a good response and good cooperation by the DSE and CFA teams.”
Mr Nicholson urged people to take extra care today as it’s another day of high and severe fire risk around central and northern Victoria.
“People should be making preparations and be extra vigilant,” he said.