Police take woman into custody near Mt Clear plantation

A woman has been arrested after a car fire which closed one lane of the main road between Mount Clear and Sebastopol.

Police said the woman - believed to be in her 40s - fled the scene in Mount Clear and was arrested in bushland off nearby Frenchmans Lane.

Geelong-based officers from the Western Region Crime Squad said the silver Nissan Qashqai had allegedly been stolen from a Wodonga car dealership - and they had been in Ballarat at the time investigating.

Police were seen searching the handcuffed woman before she was bundled into a divvy van.

One lane of Whitehorse Road was closed for at least half an hour as the drama unfolded.

The car was badly burnt, with its horn sounding continuously until the blaze was extinguished by Ballarat City FRV firefighters.

PREVIOUSLY: Emergency crews have rushed to put out a car fully engulfed in flames on Whitehorse Road in Mount Clear.

The alert went out about 12.15pm on Tuesday, with several alerts on the VicEmergency app for Whitehorse Road near Frenchmans Lane.

The fire caused a large amount of smoke and spread to nearby trees.

The Sebastopol-bound lane of Whitehorse Road is currently blocked.

It's not known if anyone is injured, or if the cause is suspicious.

Earlier on Tuesday, a ute was set alight in a plantation near Creswick about 7am.

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