The act says fires are not to be lit or maintained during a total fire ban, however some mining activities are exempt, with companies allowed to burn gas exhaust through a chimney, as long as sparks or incandescent materials can’t escape from the site. 

Anti-mining groups and landowners in fire-prone regions say the rule is hypocritical and potentially dangerous.

The NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) said its Special Hazards Working Group found the risk of bushfire from gas wells to be minimal. 

Opponents have singled out Santos’s gas wells in the dense, fire-prone Pilliga State Forest as a potential danger. 

Santos says its Pilliga gas flares are designed to burn off gas in a controlled manner in all expected weather conditions. 

The company said it had also developed strict bushfire management plans in partnership with the RFS and the Forestry Corporation of NSW.

Willala farmer Alistair Donaldson said the Santos wells posed an unacceptable fire risk in hot weather.

“Santos say the risk is miniscule, but once you get to know the area, fuel loads and conditions, there are certain days that make you wonder how the hell they could justify flaring,” Mr Donaldson said.

Lock the Gate NSW coordinator Georgina Woods said it was hypocritical to stop farmers from harvesting during high fire danger periods but allow mining companies to continue. 

“It really doesn’t make sense, on the days that total fire bans are declared, that they should continue operating, risking not just their own operation but everyone else as well,” Ms Woods said. 

“Harvest has to stop. Why is there a blanket exemption for equally fire-prone activities?”

A Santos spokeswoman said the design of the gas flares took into account the heat from the flare and the surrounding environment and they did not give off embers.

The spokeswoman said, in the event of extreme conditions, Santos undertook hourly reporting of the weather, to assess the risks of works proceeding, while operating wells can be isolated and shut down to minimise risk.