Fire crews have declared a small fire in the Yallourn open cut safe, after a hot spot flared up in a disused section of the mine this morning.
Morwell Fire Brigade senior station officer Ross Male said the hotspot was discovered on Monday afternoon, however access difficulties prevented fire crews from responding to the blaze quicker.
Yallourn’s onsite fire service monitored the hot spot overnight, before making the callout for CFA assistance at 7.30am when “it began putting up a bit of smoke”.
The CFA sent one appliance to assist in the operation.
A spokeswoman for Yallourn owner operator EnergyAustralia said tankers, fixed sprays and dozers were used to douse the fire with water, significantly reducing the smoke.
“An investigation into how the fire began will be conducted, however early investigations indicate it may have been caused by coal overheating,” the spokeswoman said.
