Peak fire season in the Hunter is living up to its name, with eleven fires currently burning in the region; not all of them within containment lines.
The blazes are believed to have been sparked by lightning storms passing through the Singleton and Muswellbrook areas recently.
Over 150 firefighters have been deployed to the Muswellbrook and Singleton LGAs- the main priority is a fire at Howes Valley, 30 kilometres south-west of Singleton, which has burnt through 4092 hectares and is proving difficult to fight due to rugged, inaccessible terrain.
Rural Fire Service Operational Officer, Leanne Bell says the battle has gone on for two weeks, with local crews bolstered by ACT RFS members and other agencies such as NSW Ambulance and SES.
She says in such dry conditions, half the job is transporting water to the scene of fires.
"Not only are they fighting the fire, they're actually doing a lot of work in the movement of water from spot to spot because of the size of the tracks- the big trucks can only go so far, then the next size truck picks that up and moves to another water point," Ms Bell said, "...so the trucks at the scene can fight fire with water."
Leanne Bell says the Upper Hunter is screaming out for rainfall to help the effort.
"Water has been a really big issue out there...what water there is, people need to use for their livestock and homes.
"Unfortunately [rain is] not on the horizon for us," she says, "At least the little bit of rain we've had- under 10 millilitres- has given us a chance to put specialised, remote area firefighters in."
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| Image: MJF Productions. |
