New England fire warning due to high winds

NSW Rural Fire Service volunteers have been kept busy with a high number of incidents across the Northern Tablelands region.

Superintendent Chris Wallbridge said most incidents have resulted in burns escaping from private properties.

“Property owners need to be aware that conditions are extremely dry and fires that start can be difficult to control in these conditions,” he said.

“These fires have burnt out significant stock fodder, threatened a number of farm sheds and resulted in stock having to be destroyed.”

Tamworth Superintendent Allyn Perkiss said his crew is expecting winds of 20-30km 

“We haven’t had too many burns get out of control, touch wood,” he said.

“For the most part people have been very good. The biggest thing for us is notification – they must notify us and their neighbours 24 hours in advance.

“We’ve had a few silly little call outs, where volunteers have been pulled out of work to go to a pile burn, that has people standing there with a hose, doing the right thing, but they just hadn’t notified us.”

At the moment, there is a large fire along Talmoin Road, in the Bald Rock National Park near Tenterfield, that has burnt out 1800 hectares – however, no properties are under threat.

Firefighters are currently working to control the fire in demanding conditions.

The fire is presently burning within containment lines in rugged terrain within the Bald Rock National Park and private properties.

The NSW RFS advises residents to stay up to date using the RFS web site and Fire Near Me App.