Four properties bore the brunt of the fire with fences damaged but Hawkesdale Incident Control Centre manager Rob Couzens said no stock or sheds were lost.
FIRE crews will continue to work on a grass fire north of Hawkesdale with rocky terrain making it difficult to put the fire out.
About 400 hectares was burnt at Minhamite before the fire was contained on Monday night.
Four properties bore the brunt of the fire with fences damaged but Hawkesdale Incident Control Centre manager Rob Couzens said no stock or sheds were lost.
He said 14 crews would work to secure the eight-kilometre-wide perimeter.
“It’s very difficult terrain,” he said.
“They are working in stony country and hot peat swamp.
“There is 300 to 400 metres of it. The fire has winded its way through all this rocky terrain.
“The only thing that will put it out is rain.”
Mr Couzens said crews would remain at the scene until at least today and he praised the efforts of the volunteers.
He said crews responded quickly but the fire got going quickly.
“The fire just took off,” he said. “We responded with lots of trucks yesterday. I think there was 28.”
Helicopter pilot Terry Mortimer is stationed in Hamilton for the fire season and said the fire had been brought under control quickly with the help of the water bomber.
It’s the first time a helicopter had been stationed there for the whole season with the CFA and DSE strategically placing helicopters at various locations around Victoria.
Mr Mortimer, from Mangalore in NSW, said there were major benefits to running and bombing the fire and consolidating on the efforts of firefighters on the ground.
“There was a mapping helicopter that flew the perimeter of the fire, looking at how fire started,” he said.
“There is all that volcanic area, some rocks and it’s still hot. An infrared camera has been used.”
Mr Mortimer also worked on the Donnybrook fire last month and said the Minhamite blaze was fought in a similar way.
“By the end of the day it was fairly under control,” he said.
“It just proves how useful it is to hit it hard and fast.”
Mr Mortimer said he also had a helicopter stationed at Ovens and one at Heyfield.
“We’ve got fairly high fire danger days coming up on Saturday, Sunday and Monday,” he said.
“When you’re up there you can see it’s tinder dry. Just speaking to people around here they say there hasn’t been decent rain since September.”
A CFA spokeswoman said the cause of the fire, south of Penshurst, was unknown and crews were working to keep containment lines in places.
“It’s not out — it’s contained,” she said.
cquirk@fairfaxmedia.com.au
