A 75-YEAR-OLD man has been charged with causing a massive fire in Victoria's east that killed one person and destroyed homes.

Victoria Police said arson and explosives squad detectives charged the Aberfeldy man with five offences, including recklessly causing bushfire and causing a fire to be lit without written authority in a fire protected area.

Police said the man was due to face the Latrobe Valley Magistrates Court this afternoon.

The fire started on a rural property in Aberfeldy, in Gippsland, on the morning of Thursday, January 17, police said.

It has burnt almost 75,000ha of land in Aberfeldy, Heyfield and Seaton.

Stan Hayhurst, 84, was found dead in his car at Seaton on Friday, January 18, after the bushfire roared through the town.