Firefighters contained a grass fire north-west of Colac after a private burnoff got out of control.

FIRE authorities have warned landowners to monitor their burnoffs after crews had to control private burnoffs in the Colac district.

Firefighters attended private burnoffs at Beech Forest and Camperdown yesterday, following calls to Barongarook and Corunnun, north-west of Colac, the day before.

Country Fire Authority district six operations officer Brian Brady said landowners still had to burn responsibly despite the end of the district’s fire danger period.

“There’s been quite a few occasions recently where we’ve been called out to burnoffs that have got out of control,” Mr Brady said.

“Just because some of the restrictions have been lifted doesn’t mean it’s open slather, you still have to be responsible,” he said.

“People still have to comply with the Summary Offences Act which police manage, and if a fire escapes and causes damage then the person is liable to civil action.”

Mr Brady said landowners should ensure they had firebreaks around their burnoffs and remained at the burnoff site.

“Even though the ones crews have been out to were not necessarily going to break away and cause havoc, they still had the potential for damage,”

he said.

“And it’s not just about possible damage, it’s also a hassle for our volunteers to have to head out each time to properties where it could have been avoided.”

Mr Brady encouraged people to register their burnoffs with the VicFire Burn Off Line on 1800 668 511.

Tags: Firefighting