A crew from NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) attended a hay stack fire in Boggabri on Wednesday night.
Authorities were first called to the Grain Valley Road property at 7.45pm where they found a stack of 100 hay bales ablaze.
RFS Liverpool Range district manager Tim Butcher said the fire was caused by a number of factors.
“The fire was caused by a combination of high moisture in the hay bales and the hot weather conditions,” Mr Butcher said.
“Hay stack fires are usually pretty simple but can be difficult to put out.”
Mr Butcher said there was a high risk of the fire spreading to nearby paddocks.
“Our crew was very quick to asses the risk,” he said.
“They ascertained that nearby stubble was the biggest risk of the fire spreading, so they quickly did some defensive burning to prevent the fire spreading.”
Mr Butcher said the fire was a “timely reminder” for other farmers and locals.
“This fire just goes to show that fires can always take you by surprise,” he said.
“We want to encourage farmers to carefully monitor their hay, ensure the moisture level is not too high and to make sure hay isn’t stacked to tightly.”
The RFS manager said it wasn’t just farmers who need to be fire ready.
“We encourage everyone to be fire ready and have a fire plan,” he said.
“It’s also very important that people take care this fire season as it has been very hot and dry.”
“For more information about fire safety and being fire ready visit our website www.rfs.nsw.gov.au.”