LOCAL CFA crews were responding to a fire on Monday afternoon at Dunkeld as the result of a blown tyre when CFA crews were once again called to another suspicious fire on a day of Total Fire Ban at Gazette.

CFA District 5 Commander Rainer Kiessling confirmed seven appliances with local crews were in attendance at about 4pm to extinguish the fire which again looked deliberately lit.

This was the third time in as many weeks there has been a fire lit on the Mount Napier Road, making it the fourth since the first one in November 2023.

“The fire is currently being investigated,” Commander Riessling said.

“Gazette was the primary brigade that attended, along with Penshurst, Ripponhurst, Byaduk and Tarrington.”

Hamilton Police Crime Investigation Unit detective senior constable Jackson Sharkey was on the scene assisting Fire Investigation officers.

“We’re treating this as being linked to the other suspicious fires on the roadside all within two kilometres of each other,” he said.

“But this one is an outlier compared to the others given it was lit during the day.

“The investigation is ongoing.”

Penshurst Fire Brigade escorted an excavator to create a fire break around the perimeter of the fire.

Sen Const Sharkey stressed again if anyone has any information to please contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Earlier in the afternoon, the grassfire at the intersection of Glenelg Highway and Dunkeld-Cavendish Rd, Dunkeld, was travelling in a south-easterly direction but was quickly brought under control by District 5 crews including, Dunkeld and Warrayure.

“It was an accident as the result of a tyre coming off a trailer,” he said.

“The call came in at about (1.58pm).

“It started a fire that was about three acres in size which was quickly brought under control by the Dunkeld and Warrayure fire brigades.”

On Saturday afternoon around 35 CFA volunteers were called to help extinguish a small bush and grass fire on Fleece Road at Condah when an ember escaped from a fire in a dirt hole on a private property and re-ignited.

CFA District 4 Commander Stephen Giddens said 12 appliances from 10 local brigades were called to extinguish the fire.

“It burnt about five acres of dry grass, some bracken and small trees,” he said.

“They were able to extinguish the fire before it spread too much.

“We have a standard response in the fire ban period of sending five brigades - we then upped the response to ten brigades - which is a normal response for a fire of that size.

“We also engaged two bombers to support us.

“It actually started in a dirt hole where a fire had been there previously.

“The fire started after one ember had gotten out - it was a reignition.

“It was about 9pm (Saturday evening) by the time it was put out, but crews continued to monitor it throughout the night.”

Commander Giddens said there was another flare up on Sunday requiring another six appliances, plus a bulldozer to put a mineral earth break around the fire to make it safe.

“We also enlisted two crews from Forest Fire Management to give us a hand with their slip-on units which was much appreciated,” he said.

“That helped us.”

Commander Giddens said CFA crews remained on site on Monday monitoring the fire.

Hamilton police also attended the scene but deemed the fire as non-suspicious.

“It was just some embers that had reignited,” a police spokesperson said.