Local Fires Still Burning

THE small lightening band which came through the region on Tuesday night started several fires, one in Woolooma Gully, Rouchel, one on the Woolooma Range between Stewarts Brook and Rouchel, one in Moonan Brook, one on the Barrington and another on the Coolah Range boardering the Shire.

Myles O’Reilly, district coordinator for Liverpool Range Fire Service, said the fire is in inaccessible terrain but crews were working together well.

“They are in fairly inhospitable land so access is an issue, so we have been using a combination of fixed wing aircraft which is refueling at Glenbawn and we have a light rotary wing aircraft being used for reconnaissance at the moment and later will be used for some bucket work in smaller locations and we also have the use of some heavy plant which will be utilised for containment lines and crews on the ground,” said Mr O’Reilly.

“They are all working in conjunction with each other and they are all working well ,” he said.

“We did some line scan work done at 4am to identify where the hot spots are.

“The challenge is visibility, but with the resource we have it should make a good impact.

“Some of these areas are inhospitable, you can’t even get goats into it, but there is some fuel out there and where they have occurred it is enough to support it,” he said.

“There are bigger fires going on elsewhere, but in this area they are just bubbling away in the background,” Myles O’Reilly said.

Local crews involved with fighting the fires include Rouchel, Stewarts Brook, Ellerston, Moonan, Merriwa River, Cassillis and Settlement

The Dartbrook Rural Fire Brigade also attended a fire on Bunnan Road last night following a lightening strike to a tree.