FARMERS in – or heading into – harvest, cutting crops and hay, got a seriously expensive warning about the fire season potential when more than 6000 bales of hay – worth more than $1 million – went up in a Kerang firestorm last week.

Firefighters came from every direction – in the end 27 fire trucks were at the scene – but fighting hit, windy conditions as well as the flames, they could not save the seven sheds where the hay