Barkstead Rd residents were terrified when a blaze broke out last week, just days after Michael Coll warned of "a real tragedy" this fire season.

Mr Coll said the failure of local and state governments to fix fire hazards on public land at Barkstead had put families in jeopardy.

The fire on Monday, November 9, broke out about 10pm along South West Rd on the outskirts of Barkstead.

The only escape route for residents was along the Department of Sustainability-owned side of Barkstead Rd _ a stretch of road that is maintained only to the standard of a "forest track".

Fire crews contained the blaze but Mr Coll said it was an ominous sign of things to come this summer.

For years Mr Coll has been warning local and state governments of the danger posed by the poor standard of Barkstead Rd.

He told The Advocate last month: "If you've got to move in a hurry there's no way you're going to be able to do more than 40 kmh.

"If they're in a real panic there's going to be a real tragedy."

Mr Coll said that with the weather as hot as it was people were really nervous.

"The 20 families here are just so vulnerable," he said.

The road, flanked by plantation and native forests, used to be owned by Hepburn Shire but was transferred in recent years into the hands of the DSE.

Mr Coll said local and state governments were hypocrites when it came to fire safety.

He said everybody in the town had cleaned up around their properties, but it was public land that needed fixing.

"A pile of sawdust from one of the old sawmills is sitting in the middle of the village," he said.

"If that sawdust goes, we're gone.

"We've been trying to get them to take it out, but apparently it's heritage listed.

"They just say the same old rubbish: make sure you've got your fire plan in place.

"They don't listen to us."

Mr Coll urged all levels of government to step in before it was too late.

"We'd be happy if they spent $80,000 on the Barkstead Rd and put a plaque on the damn thing," he said.