A 20-year-old Gippsland man faced court on Friday over a bushfire that is thought to have started the 45-day Hazelwood Mine Fire in Victoria's Latrobe Valley.

The man, who cannot be identified, was charged with deliberately lighting the Hernes Oak fire, which started west of the mine.

There were multiple bushfires in the area at the time, but the Hazelwood Mine Fire Inquiry found that was the fire that most likely jumped into the coal mine.

The Hazelwood fire covered the town of Morwell in smoke and was the subject of a State Government inquiry last year.

A second government inquiry will open later this year to investigate whether the mine fire caused any deaths.

Police outlined their case against the man in a hearing at the Latrobe Valley Magistrates Court.

Detective Acting Sergeant Eric Harbis told the court the man was involved in the first call to triple-0 to report the fire.

He said police became suspicious of the man after he provided a written statement to them in the weeks after the fire started.

"He gave a number of varying accounts of what he saw and did on the day that were inconsistent," Detective Acting Sergeant Harbis told the court.

"His explanations just didn't gel."

Police allege there are witnesses who saw the man near where the fire began on the McDonald's Track at Herne's Oak before and after the fire was lit.

When questioned by the defence, Detective Acting Sergeant Harbis said there were no witnesses to the fire being lit and the man had made no admissions about any involvement in the fire.

The man was granted bail and will next appear in court on September 17.