Fires raze crops in north-west Victoria as weather heats up

Seven fires that broke out in north-west Victoria on Tuesday destroyed about 300 hectares' worth of crops, the Country Fire Authority (CFA) says.

The first fire was ignited by lightning at Walpeup, south of Mildura, on Tuesday morning, destroying 180 hectares' worth of lentils.

The CFA responded to another six fires around Nandaly and Chinkapook in the afternoon and evening.

Grain grower Codey Elliott lost more than 100 hectares of his barley crop when lightning struck on his property at Nandaly.

"I was harvesting a paddock about 10 kilometres away from the house paddock where the fire started when it happened," he said.

"I saw a few nasty strikes of lightning, saw the smoke, and by the time we got there it was pretty well alight."

He said the lightning struck in a paddock that had already been harvested before jumping the Calder Highway and burning through what would have been a near-record barley yield.

"Probably was our best barley crop that we had, but anyway, that's always when it goes, isn't it?" Mr Elliot said.

"We were hoping for between … 5-6 tonnes [a hectare] at least."

It was an hour and a half before the fire was contained with the help of about 30 CFA tankers and private units, as well as support from three water-bomber planes.

Mr Elliott said the losses would have been greater if not for the quick and selfless response of farmers in the area.

"People come from the other side of Ouyen, people from Ultima, and dropped everything, all wanting to bring their water carts over and help," he said.

"We're just so thankful they came.

"You just hate to know what the worst case scenario would have been."

Mr Elliott was back on the header to continue harvest the next day, albeit a bit cautiously.

"It's a bit scary being this early on in harvest and we've already had a few fires around the area," he said.

Fire resources stretched

Sea Lake Brigade Group Officer Paul Allan was one of many to respond to the two Nandaly fires.

He said the private units and farmers who helped fight the fires were invaluable.

"We just didn't have enough CFA resources to tackle everything," Mr Allan said.

"A lot of trucks were tied up at the Walpeup fire, and at the same time we were responding at Nandaly we were called to another three or four more fires probably about 30km away from us at Chinkapook and Waitchie."

With the fire and harvest seasons in full swing, Mr Allan urged farmers to be extremely cautious.

"My advice: stop your harvesting if there's a major fire in the area because their resources are stretched thin," he said.

CFA District 18 Assistant Chief Fire Officer Gavin Wright also warned farmers to stay alert and prepared when harvesting.

"Fires and harvesting sometimes go together and it happens to all farmers at some point, so don't be embarrassed — and there's no fee at the end of the day for our time," he said.

"It's a matter of ringing Triple Zero and getting that response as quickly as they can. Because the quicker we can get there, the better chance we have of keeping the fire small."