Many claim it was a lucky escape for Hepburn and neighbouring Daylesford, and are keen to implement future prevention strategies, like more frequent weed management.

From 1918, the Forests Commission Victoria managed the state's forests. It was merged into a Department of Conservation, Forests and Lands, along with a number of departmental bodies in 1983.

Today, the bush in and around bushfire-prone Hepburn Shire is managed by a cluster of authority bodies, including Parks Victoria, in partnership with the Dja Dja Wurrung, the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning and Hepburn Shire Council.

Pervasive weeds like gorse, cape broom and blackberry are a big issue for the region and require constant management to keep their growth under control.

In the case of a bushfire, these weeds can fuel a fire, causing the blaze to burn hotter, therefore inflicting more environmental damage. But the difficulty lies with the fact that weed management is the responsibility of the land owner - and there are many of them.

Country Fire Authority Lieutenant Mick Yanner coordinated the response to the Hepburn fires. 

He said managing the land all comes down to money, politics and resources and CFA volunteers did not have the capacity to undertake burns in locations like gullies. 

"The fire has proved there is a high risk to the area of Hepburn and Hepburn Springs," he said. "More definitely needs to be done for fuel reduction."

"We are all working on trying to get agencies to come together."

Read more: Staying informed 'plays a vital role in keeping people safe' - CFA

Mr Yanner has lived in the region all his life.

He is a third-generation CFA volunteer with his dad a CFA captain of 20 years and six other families member also involved.

Mr Yanner said weeds were a problem, but education was what really needed to be carried out across the whole community. 

"90 per cent of the Hepburn fire was on private land. We need more education around land management."

Mr Yanner said the CFA was working on a number of projects to manage fuel loads.

DELWP manages public land and undertakes planned burns on both public and private land.

Forest Fire Management Victoria Midlands district manager Jasmine Filmer said for the first time, Forest Fire Management Victoria and CFA have prepared a three-year joint fuel management plan to deliver fuel management activities across public and private land. 

"The Wombat Forest area is one of Victoria’s highest priority areas to reduce bushfire risk," she said.

"There are several risk reduction activities planned in the Wombat Forest area during the coming autumn season, which may take place anytime, depending on weather and fuel conditions.

"Before carrying out a burn, fire crews thoroughly assess the landscape and potential impacts on nearby communities.

"We work closely with the Bureau of Meteorology to assess weather conditions such as humidity, temperature and wind speed, and will only carry out burns when the conditions are suitable."

Hepburn Shire chief executive Evan King said the council worked with a number of agencies and land managers to identify and respond to fire risks and concerns within its boundaries.

Mr King said council undertook actions to minimise fire risk on council land such as discussing risks and mitigation with emergency services, co-ordinating the municipal Emergency Management Planning Committee to discuss and prioritise risk areas, fire hazard inspections and supporting groups like the Hepburn Community Based Bushfire Management group, which is led by the CFA.

"Council has management plans for some of the reserves it manages and we are also currently considering the development of a fire plan for the entire Shire," he said.

"Our program of roadside slashing and weed management is also an important way we manage fire risk on council land."

A spokesperson from Parks Victoria, who manages Hepburn Regional Park, said fire prevention work was undertaken as part of Forest Fire Management Victoria's aims to reduce the likelihood of fires starting and spreading in parks.

The spokesperson said it cuts grass and reduces vegetation growth along park boundaries, maintains access roads for fire fighting vehicles and takes an active part in DELWPs planned burning campaigns aimed at reducing fuel loads in parks.

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