A final report into the cause of the bushfire that razed dozens of homes on Victoria's surf coast is expected to be handed down to the Victorian government on Friday.
Victoria's emergency management inspector-general, Tony Pearce, has been investigating what sparked the Wye River-Jamieson Track fire, which flared out of control in heat and high winds on Christmas Day.
The fire, now contained, destroyed 116 houses in Wye River and nearby Separation Creek and has burned more than 2500 hectares, much of it thick forest in rugged Otway Ranges back country.
Mr Pearce's interim report, released in January, found the fire was started by lightning, and that back-burning between December 22 and 24 helped prevent an even worse inferno once the fire raced out of control.
The report will be handed to Emergency Services Minister Jane Garrett for consideration.
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