Tamworth fire permits suspended until midnight on New Year's Day

With the mercury unlikely to drop below 35 degrees this week, Tamworth Rural Fire Service infrastructure inspector Peter Roffe is warning residents to stay alert.

“If we get a total fire ban it prohibits any burning or lighting of a fire, people need to be aware of safe keeping of campfires too,” he said.

“Things are drying up because we haven’t had any rain in the past 10 days.”

A fire permit suspension has been in place from December 23 to January 1 to assist reduced crew numbers on the ground.

There isn’t usually a spike in the number of fires over the Christmas period, but with New Year’s Eve celebrations and the silly season fireworks can pose a risk.

Illegal without a permit, residents are warned not to use fireworks on properties without one.

Temperatures are expected to soar as high as 39 degrees with winds up to 15 kilometres per hour on Tuesday.

A lengthy bushfire season could be on the cards for Tamworth in unrelenting dry conditions.

“There’s no prediction on that, it’s a case of how long is a piece of string?” Mr Roffe said.

“Particularly for Tamworth when we’re always two or three days from a flood and six weeks from a drought.

“So trying to predict that can be problematic.”

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Soil moisture is still deficient as a result of poor rainfall.

As dry conditions continue, grass and forest fuels increase the risk of bushfire.

If a total fire ban is declared no fires may be lit in the open and all permits will be suspended.

For more information on where bans have been implemented, visit the NSW Rural Fire Service website.

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