Smoke billows from Mooroopna fire

Mr Forsyth said it was believed that the fire started from a spark from a power transformer on a pole.

Five CFA tankers and one from Fire Rescue Victoria were used to fight the blaze.

The fire took about 30 minutes to extinguish.

It burnt a 500m by 100m area of grass.

There was also a fault in the electricity network in Mooroopna just before 3pm, but Powercor was unable to confirm if it was linked to the fire.

A Powercor spokesperson said more than 11,300 homes and businesses lost power, with the majority restored in about 15 minutes.

Power was restored to the remaining homes and businesses within an hour, the spokesperson said.

“Powercor are investigating the cause of the fault,” the spokesperson said.