Port Lincoln mayor Peter Davis said 25-metre firebreaks needed to be put in either side of the Western Approach Road and Proper Bay Road – both major arterial routes – to protect the town.

"I'm demanding far superior firebreaks not just to slow fires but so that crews, CFS and MFS, know they're getting some assistance," he said.

"With private properties, we need to get an easier and more simplified application and approval process for clearing native vegetation."

The fire burnt through 280 hectares, including four homes. The clean-up bill is estimated to be in the millions of dollars.

After visiting the fire site, CFS chief officer Euan Ferguson and Emergency Services Minister Michael Wright said private landowners needed to take more responsibility for their land.

He did not believe native vegetation should take any blame for the fire.

South Australian Farmers' Federation president Peter White is a member of the committee looking a code of practice to manage native vegetation for bushfire prevention.

He said issues such as routine burning during winter time, to reduce fuel loads, were being explored.

"One of the real issues is to what extent the government is willing to put firebreaks into manageable sizes," he said.

Family First MLC and former Emergency Services Minister Robert Brokenshire said ill-informed restrictions on native vegetation clearance meant residents were at threat from bushfire because firebreaks were not wide enough.

There should also be more firebreaks. He is calling for a review of the NVA.

"The Act cannot exist in a vacuum – ill-informed decisions to protect native vegetation can put lives at risk," he said.

"To protect native vegetation, biodiversity, lives and property, a more streamlined approach on cold burns and firebreaks is needed in South Australia."