Ballarat City Fire Station senior officer Steve Poulter said it began when a vehicle was set alight along Creswick’s Cushing Avenue near a caravan park about 12am.

Within the same hour, another car was torched on Spencer Street at Canadian about 1am. 

Closer to sunrise, CFA crews attended a third car fire along Gear Avenue at Mount Helen about 5.15am.

Video footage captured by a man heading to work showed massive flames emitting from the destroyed vehicle on Gear Avenue, with a big plume of black smoke billowing into the sky. 

Later on in the day, firefighters were called out to Bell Avenue at Mount Helen after yet another car had been set alight about 12.30pm.

One nearby resident, who did not want to be identified, said the black SUV had been driving erratically through the suburb, purposely running into wheelie bins.

Ballarat-based detectives were treating the fires as suspicious, looking into whether they were linked to several burglaries across the city.

Meanwhile, a white Kia hatchback and Honda Integra Scooter were stolen in broad daylight from a house along Namron Court at Miners Rest on Tuesday afternoon.

Resident Nicole Van Berkel said her neighbours house had been ransacked, with the offenders finding keys to the car and scooter before taking off sometime after noon.

She had been keeping a watch on the house as the occupants were away on holiday.

“They’re incredibly upset, but they’re trying to not let it ruin this holiday they’ve planned for years,” Ms Van Berkel said.

“They work hard and then this happens. 

“They’re really good people, that’s what’s upsetting.”

Ms Van Berkel said police told the family on Wednesday morning the Kia hatchback had been found burnt at Nerrina.

The latest crime data showed the amount of car thefts had increased across Ballarat in the 12 months to March, 2017. 

There were 567 vehicles stolen in this time period, compared to only 521 stolen cars in the year before.

Anyone with information about Wednesday’s car fires is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a report online.