Lancefield applauds 'sorry' statement

A month ago, DELWP was an acronym inviting rage in Lancefield after a bushfire sparked by a controlled burn threatened lives, destroyed houses and livelihoods and forced hundreds to flee.

But the head of the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning was given a round of applause at a public meeting in Lancefield on Thursday following his solemn apology for the harm his workers caused.

Department secretary Adam Fennessy faced about 200 angry residents to apologise for mistakes his staff had made, in an effort to rebuild community trust with DELWP.

"I am very sorry. Deeply sorry, for the distress this fire has caused you and the destruction and the enormous impacts it's had on your lives," he told the crowd.

"Our job ... is to minimise the bushfire threat to you, your properties and your communities, and the Lancefield-Cobaw planned burn was meant to do that, but what it did was put you, your properties and your lives at risk, and indeed it destroyed properties.

"It destroyed animals. It destroyed the environment and it destroyed the things that are important to you, and it's important for us to acknowledge that."

Many, including Lancefield resident Gwen Cianci, who wore a T-shirt emblazoned with the message "I SURVIVED A DELWP BURN-OFF", welcomed the apology.

"It's the first time that we have heard any public apology, and I think it was brilliant to hear it," she told reporters.

"It's a sign that the community's moving forward together on this issue."