Local firefighters have battled a rash of eight escaped burns in the region in the space of 10 days, and facing a gusty weekend, the NSW Rural Fire Service is warning residents that the forecast weather coupled with bone-dry paddocks and bushland could push the fire danger to Very High or even Severe levels in some areas.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Cudgegong RFS District are seeking approval to bring the start of the 2019-2020 Bush Fire Danger Period forward to September 1, but in the meantime - and in the coming days - Superintendent Troy Porter recommends property owners hold off on burns.
"Under these conditions we are urging anyone planning a burn to postpone lighting up until the cold front generating these high winds has passed," he said. "The fact that in the past few days eight burns escaped from their planned areas under relatively mild wind conditions provides a graphic demonstration of the extreme threat posed by our parched vegetation."
In the worst of the eight fires that escaped from the landholder's control, flames from a pile burn ran across the surrounding paddock near the Castlereagh Highway at Beryl, spreading over a 4ha area and destroying a hay shed and a tractor inside. The other seven fires burned 2ha on Maloneys Road in Lue, 1ha on the Castlereagh Highway at Running Stream, 1ha on Kurtz Lane at Cooyal and fires on Guntawang Road at Galambine and Cope Road at Stubbo where the area burnt was not recorded.
The Bureau of Meteorology forecast said the grassland curing level in New South Wales and southern Queensland is generally about 90 percent, with fuel loadings ranging between 2.5-4 tonnes per hectare. With 98 per cent of the state now in drought or short on water, the RFS is preparing for a seriously increased bushfire risk this summer.
The fact that in the past few days eight burns escaped from their planned areas under relatively mild wind conditions provides a graphic demonstration of the extreme threat posed by our parched vegetation.
- Superintendent Troy Porter
"When you have fuel that is so dry it doesn't take a lot to get it to burn and burn hot," Supt Porter said. "Add the fact that August is traditionally a windy month and it could be a recipe for disaster. The escaped fires we've seen in the past few days clearly illustrate that risk.
"If you add a high temperature, and if we don't get an easing of the drought through rainfall, then it's quite concerning going into the summer proper."
Under the statutory danger period, normally October 1 to March 31, anyone planning to light up must get a permit from the RFS and comply with a number of other conditions.