Tamworth was partially clouded in smoke on Wednesday as the two local fire forces combined to carry out some much needed backburning through the middle of town.
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A combined 25 firefighters from both Fire and rescue NSW and the Rural Fire Service spent the day burning out over 10 hectares of land between Goonoo Goonoo and Scotts Road along Locks Lane.
Fire and Rescue NSW Duty Commander Peter Nugent was the operation manager for the hazard reduction burn, which he said had not been carried out in 12 years.
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“It was actually brought to our attention last week when someone did light a fire down in here that we had to attend,” he said.
“There is a fairly heavy fuel load in here, and the conditions are good at the moment to burn it out on our terms before the season starts.”
- Duty Commander Peter Nugent
“There is a fairly heavy fuel load in here, and the conditions are good at the moment to burn it out on our terms before the season starts.”
While the calm and cool morning conditions proved perfect for the reduction, the recent rain made the burn an even slower process than first expected, which may have been a bonus for more than just the firies.
“It is a nice low impact burn which means it won’t kill the grass, that will all regenerate when we get a bit more rain, although this burn will work as a fire reduction for a few years,” Mr Nugent said.
Zone Commander Tom Cooper also added that if there are any animals such as blue tongue lizards or anything else in the area the slow burn allows them plenty of time to get out.
The service is also hoping to get around to a few more grassy areas in town, including in Coledale, for hazard reduction burns before the official fire season starts in Spring.
Just last week the RFS declared an early start to the Bushfire Danger Period in ten regions across the state, including large areas throughout the New England and Northern Tablelands, although not in the lower lying Tamworth region.
That decision came on the back of one of the busiest weeks of the year for the service, which saw an incredible 142 hazard reduction burns on private property get out of control.
In almost all instances neighbours and fire authorities were not told of the proposed burns, leading to the RFS actioning the Bushfire Danger Period as of Wednesday August 1.
