At Wallangra Road, Inverell, a blaze has been brought under control after destroying 4104 hectares.

On Monday afternoon rural firefighters were also battling an out-of-control fire on Rocky River Road, at Rocky River in the Tenterfield district, that has so far destroyed 136 hectares of bush.

The fire was moved to 'watch and act' status on Monday afternoon, before being downgraded to 'advice' by 4pm. Residents are advised to stay up to date in case the situation changes.

Fire crews also managed to contain a grass fire beside the Bruxner Highway, while a small grass fire on Puddledock Road, Armidale has also been extinguished.

The fire danger rating for the Northern Slopes, New England and North Western districts is 'extreme', according to the RFS, leading to a total fire ban being declared across the region.

Meanwhile, south westerly winds of up to 45 km/h are gusting across the region, from Armidale through to Moree.

New England has received little to no rain in the lead-up to the bushfire season, with a hotter, drier summer predicted by the Bureau of Meteorology.

Over the weekend, Fire and Rescue NSW crews carried out a series of hazard reduction burns before Monday's extreme fire conditions.

A 13-hectare, low-intensity burn was conducted at Guyra to reduce the fuel loads across the eastern side of town. The burn was aimed at safeguarding homes near the bush, while also protecting a popular walking track used by about 6000 people a day.

The service has now paused its hazard reduction program in light of the total fire ban.

The fire danger rating for Tuesday, October 17, is 'high' across North Western, Northern Slopes, New England, Greater Hunter, Upper Central Western Plains, Greater Sydney and Far North Coast.

Residents are also being urged to put in place their own preparations around their own homes in case of fire.

Know your fire risk and what you will do if fire threatens. Be ready to act. Report all unattended fires to Triple Zero (000).

For more information on Total Fire Ban rules, visit the RFS website.

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