Local NSW Rural Fire Service crews were kept busy over the weekend responding to calls from landholders who had lost control over fires on their properties.
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“Landowners need to be careful when using fire,” RFS acting district manager Mid Coast, Guy Duckworth said.
“They need to be able to control fire on their own property; they are responsible for it. And they need to be aware of the current conditions and the upcoming season.
“The Bureau of Meteorology is telling us that we will be having an early start to the fire season so I would encourage all landowners to ensure that their properties are prepared and that they have a Bushfire Survival Plan,” Mr Duckworth said.
Bushfire Survival Plans can be downloaded at www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/resources/bush-fire-survival-plan.
National Parks and Wildlife Service will continue hazard reduction burning in in Khappinghat National Park and Khappinghat Nature Reserve near Old Bar, and Coorabakh National Park near Big Nellie mountain.
So far 191 hectares on the eastern edge of the park has been burnt.
“It is part of an annual strategic fuel program that we have in the local area to try and protect life and property in terms of reducing fuels adjacent to what we see as assets like farms and rural residential places and also communities such as Old Bar and Wallabi Point,” Ian Turner of the NPWS Taree office said.
Mr Turner also says this week will be an important one for asthma sufferers.
“If you do suffer from asthma or other conditions like that, when you have smoke in your area keep your windows closed and take your medication,” Mr Turner said.
“Make sure you minimise your exposure to the smoke. Every effort will be made to minimise smoke impacts on neighbours and people.”
Both NPWS and the RFS advise motorists driving through smoke to take precautions.
“Motorists should slow down and take care if driving through smoke, keep the windows up, switch the car air-conditioner to recirculated air mode and turn headlights on,” RFS inspector Darrin Briggs said.
To stay up to date on fires in your area download the Fires Near Me app on your phone or visit www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/fire-information/fires-near-me.