GRANDMOTHER Charlotte Davis has plenty of photographs detailing her lucky escape from a raging bushfire, though the proof lies just outside her back door.The Country Fire Authority (CFA) is still investigating the cause of a 250-hectare blaze near Carapook, north-west of Coleraine, that started about 5.40pm Wednesday.Strong winds fanned the grass fire, which entered a gully inaccessible to tankers before spreading to a large haystack.Mrs Davis, who was caring for her three grandsons and had just returned from Hamilton, was first told of the crisis by a friend who had seen plumes of smoke."A neighbour arrived and then the Carapook truck within 10 minutes," she said. Firefighters attacked burning cypress trees bordering her home in an attempt to stop embers sparking spot fires ."As soon as I looked out and saw the big smoke I grabbed my three grandsons, put them in the car and took them back from the house," Mrs Davis said."We could see it was blowing behind my place, so I came and put the sprinklers on around the side of the house. We then just watched what was happening, really. There was nothing we could do."As night fell two water-bombing aircraft were launched to combat the flames, with crews remaining on site yesterday to deal with flare-ups.CFA Region Four operations officer Gary Harker said 19 tankers and 150 firefighters were supported by a Casterton mobile incident control centre and an air attack supervisor that guided water bombing efforts.Mr Harker said initial inquiries suggested the blaze was started by accident, highlighting the need to remain cautious during periods of fire danger. "They did a very good job of stopping it where they did, actually. It was a job well done by our logistics people," he said."It's a big problem in Region Four - you've got these gullies with trees in them. The local winds at night will just push the fire right through."