The vehicle was set on fire on the side of the Murray Valley Highway at Browns Plains about 11pm on Friday.

The 2003 model Mitsubishi Magna was gutted and flames spread to nearby grass.

Detective Senior Constable Ian Deverell labelled it a “senseless crime”.

“This sort of thing can quickly cause a lot of damage to property and can endanger people’s lives,” he said.

“It’s a senseless crime and it’s got me bewildered why people do this sort of thing.

“It’s that time of year where the grass is drying out.

“Anyone who sees any suspicious activity or cars, or anything connected to arson and fire, can contact Crime Stoppers.”

The vehicle had not been reported stolen.

The car had been smashed before the fire, with extensive damage to the roof.

It had broken down and been abandoned before the incident.

“We’re appealing for any members of the public who may have seen someone in the area or seen a car nearby to contact Wodonga police,” he said.

“The car had been sitting there for a while.”

Firefighters attended and extinguished the flames. 

The incident came at the end of a 39 degree day.

Police and firefighters ran incident control centres at the weekend amid concerns about the risk of fire.

Wodonga incident controller Graham Healy said fire crews were on standby with maximum temperatures of close to 40 degrees forecast all week.

“We’ve been operating all weekend under a one hour standby,” he said.

“The teams have all been assembled.

“The forest fire danger rating is very high, bordering on severe.”

Conditions on Monday and Tuesday were also concerning, Mr Healy said, with high temperatures also forecast at the weekend.

“We want people to be vigilant,” he said.

“Everyone in the community should report what they see.

“We’re probably just getting into summer conditions now and there is a lot of fuel out there.”

Mr Healy said the dangerous conditions could continue until the end of next month. 

“Our fire danger won’t come down again until we get some decent rain.”