THE wild storm that lashed Tamworth has sparked new problems for fire crews battling the region's ongoing bushfires.
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Four new fires ignited on Wednesday, as a result of lightning strikes during Tuesday afternoon's thunderstorm.
Crews were busy containing blazes on Roseneath Road, Watsons Creek; Alingham Road, Balala; New England Gully Road, Moonbi; Magnesite Road, Attunga and Trough Gully Road at Dungowan.
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NSW RFS district services co-ordinator Micheal Robinson said crews had been working throughout the day to gain control of the new fires.
"It is a pretty common for thunderstorms to cause new fires," Mr Robinson said.
"The fires are usually caused by lightning strikes and can often take many hours before they get going, which has been the case in these instances.
"However, our crews are attending these fires and are working hard to contain them, and bring them under control."
Despite resulting in new fires, Mr Robinson said Tuesday's storm had provided welcome relief to crews battling the existing Moonbi Range fire.
"There was 10-12mm of rain recorded across the fire ground, which has certainly helped our crews," he said.
"Luckily, the rain hasn't made it too difficult for our crews to get onto the fire ground, so they have been able to make some decent headway.
"During our observational fly over on Wednesday morning, we did see some smouldering trees, but we feel as though the rain was certainly a benefit to crews on the ground."
Further north, the RFS' Northern Tablelands team recorded at least 20 new fire ignitions in the last two days between Walcha and Tenterfield, as a result of the storm.
However, fire crews have been able to extinguish 11 of the new blazes.
Weather conditions are expected to ease over the coming days, which Mr Robinson said would allow crews to get the upper hand over existing fires.
"Thursday's weather is expected to be a lot easier for our crews to navigate, so we will be working pretty hard to get on top of everything before the heat rises again on Friday," he said.
"After that, the weather will cool down again over the weekend, so it's crucial we get ourselves into a good position tomorrow."
Mr Robinson said the role volunteers had played in containing the region's bushfires was "vital and should not be under estimated".
"I would like to thank our volunteers, who have put in a great effort in our region over the past five weeks," he said.
"I would also like to thank everyone who supports these volunteers and allows them the time off work to come and help serve our region."
Billy Jupp
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
