Fire crews have been forced to put out four separate blazes at properties just west of Ballarat as hobby farm residents rush to burn off rubbish ahead of the start to fire season.

Ballarat Police Inspector Trevor Cornwill said it was amazing how easy it was for a fire to take hold in windy conditions.

“We’ve seen a number of situations in recent days where people have been burning things from grass clipping to old furniture and they have gotten out of control,” he said.

“It’s mainly been in rural properties such as hobby farms where people have not been paying attention to the wind.

“We’ve had a couple of situations where a fire is seemingly out one day and the next day the wind picks up the embers and it gets out of control.

“The biggest fire we’ve seen so far has been about one acre, but there is always potential for it to increase. It can quickly get out of hand.”

From today, permits are required for many burn offs to take place with restrictions in place until the start of May.

Inspector Cornwill said it was critical residents adhered to all safety precautions while burning off including three metre clearance zones and always keeping watch over the fire.

Emergency services are also warning residents to be aware of how easily barbecues can become a fire hazard.

“We’ve seen a few fires in recent weeks, predominantly with the hoses which connect the gas bottle to the barbecue,” he said.

“The most important thing to do if you haven’t used your barbecue in a while is to put soapy warm water over the pipe to see if there is a leak.

“The other thing is to make sure fat is cleaned out of the tray. It will give you a huge shock if you light it up and fat is in the tray as it will ignite. It can easily happen.”