Early fire alert as nine regions volatile at start of spring

The Warrumbungles, Gilgandra, Mid-Western Regional Council area, Port Macquarie-Hastings, Mid-Coast, Bathurst, Oberon, Lithgow and Blue Mountains areas are of most concern for bushfires and fire permits will be now be required for any burning from September.

Deputy RFS Commissioner Rob Rogers said he was concerned that the fire season would be bad with very low rainfall throughout much of the state over winter.

Last week he said there were 100 fires in the Kempsey, Port Macquarie areas after landowners hazard reduction burns lept controls due to high winds.

He said the RFS would consider all issues and and act with a high level of sympathy for landowners who were caught out by the winds.

“People need to be very cautious at the moment and get their plans into place. Because there’s been little rainfall, fires will burn more quickly,” Commissioner Rogers said.

Parts of the central-west were extremely dry and this was of concern to the RFS.

He said it was not common to bring forward the Bushfire Danger period forward - and highly unusual in the Blue Mountains.

“It is a lot drier than normal for this time of year, in some areas even drier than 2013.” (In October 2013 fire raged through Winmalee in the Blue Mountains destroying 185 homes.)

Commissioner Rogers though said he encouraged landowners to still perform hazard reductions in appropriate weather conditions.

“The west of the ranges are a cause of concern as it is very, very dry, even though we haven’t seen a lot of new growth, everything is tinder dry. The fire season is rapidly approaching.”