INVESTIGATIONS are continuing into the cause of a fire on crown land which burnt out about a hectare of scrub near the Warrnambool knackery at Levy's Point late last night.
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Warrnambool senior station officer Greg Kinross said the fire was reported to emergency services at 11.10pm.
He said two tankers from Warrnambool, one from Koroit and about 15 firefighters initially tried to gain access to the blaze via Lynch's Road.
Mr Kinross said that access was not gained and the trucks had to use a coastal track past the knackery to fight the fire.
The fire was estimated to be about five kilometres beyond the Warrnambool knackery.
"It could have been burning for some period of time. The cause is still being investigated. The fire has burnt about one hectare of coastal scrub," he said.
"We just had that initial access issue. The cause of the fire is a bit of a worry because it was unlikely to start by itself, it could have been deliberately lit or a fire left unattended."
Mr Kinross said recent rain had done little to dampen the fire danger in the Warrnambool district and across the south-west.
"People need to be aware we are still in a high fire danger period," he said.
"A fire like last night could pose a danger to property and people given the right climatic conditions and circumstances.
"Summer is still with us, it's very dry and recent rain hasn't done much to dampen the fire danger," he said.