CFA brigades from Ellerslie, Kolora, Woodford, The Sisters, Mortlake and Framlingham took part in the controlled burn, which formed fire breaks and cleared roadside fire hazards on the Hopkins Highway.

Ellerslie CFA captain Merrilyn Clifford said there had been a number of controlled roadside burns in the Moyne Shire this month as conditions became more suitable.

“This is something we do every year for the community and protect farmers on their property,” she said.

“It cleans the grass out to help with road vision, so you can see cattle on the road.

“The best time is now because the grass is dry and will burn.

“Most brigades have roads they’re supposed to burn as part of a community service.

“The young guys are getting a bit of fire experience with the controlled burn, without getting thrown right into the fire.

“It gets them some experience to see how fire reacts under control, especially with the wind.”

District Five operations manager Nick Brown said roadside burns were also helpful as firebreaks in the CFA’s strategic plan.

“If a fire is travelling we know the breaks are there and if a fire is heading to that break we can adopt different strategies in regard to managing it,” Mr Brown said.

“It’s been a bit hot and windy so there hasn’t been a lot done in recent weeks, but we grab every opportunity when the weather is right.

“It also reduces some of the fuel hazards, because we’ve had pretty phenomenal growth with the rain last year.

“With a lot of traffic there’s certainly greater opportunity for fires to start.”

He said although the Bureau of Meterology had forecast some rainfall in February, the CFA had to prepare for extreme weather conditions.

“The bureau has done some modelling saying there’s going to be some wetter periods through February.

“Weather patterns at the moment look a little different but we have to factor in that it’s going to continue to be dry, hoping for some wet spells.

“It would be be nice to get some rain in here.

“We prepare the best we can and deal with it when it happens, and we ask the public to do the same.”

* A FIRE near Nelson burnt out half a hectare of bushland yesterday.

DSE and CFA crews were called to the blaze at 10.35am and five tankers responded.

The fire was in a pine forrest at Lake Monibeong. The cause was unknown.

Later yesterday, cews were quick to control a fire which started about 5.35pm on a Grassmere property on Rosehill Road.

The fire was expected to burn until about 7.30pm and the cause was also unknown.