Fire Rescue Victoria was called to an incident on Refinery Road, Corio at about 1.30pm today.
Firefighters arrived within six minutes to find a larger than normal burn off flare, issuing more smoke and flames than usual.
The issue is believed to have been caused by the failure of two cooling pumps after seaweed became blocked in the system.
Another pump remained in operation and work to rectify the fault was successful.
FRV crews will remain at the scene while the system is fully reinstated.
A Community Advice Notice was issued for smoke in Geelong, Corio, Lara, Anakie, Little River and surrounds.
