MORE than 20 fire trucks and a Helitak helicopter were called to a crop fire at Raywood yesterday afternoon.
The fire burnt 60 hectares of barley near Gunns Lane and took firefighters about 40 minutes to control the blaze.
Neighbours from nearby properties watched the action as the helicopter dumped water on the fire before refilling from nearby dams.
The blaze started just after 1pm, with smoke visible from the Bendigo CBD.
Tony Duvoisin, from a property just across the road from the burning crop, received a panicked call from his son Shaun, telling him to leave work and come home.
“He told me about the fire and I just said to my boss, ‘I’m off’,” Mr Duvoisin said.
“It was a bit scary seeing the size of it and how close it was to our place.”
Crews from Bendigo, Bridgewater, Campbells Forest, Dingee-Tandara, Eaglehawk, Elmore, Huntly, Inglewood, Jarklin, Kamarooka, Maiden Gully, Marong, Powlett Salisbury, Raywood, Serpentine and Woodvale fought the fire.
Investigations into the cause of the blaze were still under way.