FIREFIGHTERS battling the region's bushfires are set to receive little reprieve in the Christmas period.
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Widespread high-fire conditions have led to volunteers being called back to their home states to help fight other fires, leaving local crews stretched thin.
Crews are set to battle tough heatwave conditions in the coming days, including high winds and temperatures in excess of 40 degrees.
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NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) Liverpool Range incident controller Corey Phillip said crews would be given every chance to have a break during the festive season.
"Essentially, we will really be focusing on applying our resources to protect lives, infrastructure and buildings," Mr Phillip said.
"Lately, a lot of our effort has been concentrated on the Pearson's Trail compound near Dungowan Dam and then applying resources as necessary.
"Over the weekend, our focus in regards to our local crews will be on trying to gain the upper hand over the ongoing fires, to give our firefighters the best chance to have a bit of a break over Christmas.
"We will do all we can in that regard, but we will continue to be working 24 hours a day, seven days a week."
Fire crews on the ground are also unlikely to receive much support from above, as air bombing crews have been stretched across the state.
"Much like our local resources, resources such as aircraft and plant equipment needs to be prioritised across the state," Mr Phillip said.
"Those resources will be allocated based on need for protection of infrastructure and lives.
"Where possible, we will have access to those resources, but it is very much a shared process across the state."
The heatwave conditions have prompted NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian to declare a state of emergency for the entire state until Thursday.
"We are hoping some of the predicted storms early next week may bring a little bit of rain to help our efforts," Mr Phillip said.
"However, storms often bring lightning strikes, which in turn can spark new fires, so we will be prepared for that, too, if needs be.
"If more fires were to start from lightning strikes, it would mean we are back to where we were a couple of weeks ago.
"Hopefully that doesn't happen and we can get some Christmas rain."
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.
