Vic on high alert for bushfire arsonists

With almost 600 suspicious fires lit during the 2014-15 fire season, the Victorian government is urging people to keep an eye out for fire bugs.

Victoria Police charged 39 people with intentionally causing a bushfire in the 2014-15 financial year, up from 20 in 2013-14.

The Australian Institute of Criminology estimates that up to half of all bushfires in Australia are due to arson or reckless behaviour.

A bushfire arson campaign has been launched between Crime Stoppers Victoria and emergency service agencies to raise awareness of the devastation that recklessly and deliberately lit fires can cause.

At the campaign launch on Friday, Emergency Services Minister Jane Garrett said anyone caught deliberately lighting a fire this summer will "face the full force of the law".