Total Fire Ban for Fourth Day in a Row in the Hunter

BY JESSICA ROUSE

We're in for another scorcher of a day here in the Hunter.

Temperatures will soar into the 40s across the region today - Muswellbrook is expected to see a maximum of 43 degrees, it'll be about 10 degrees cooler on the coast.

Maitland will see 42 degrees, while Wallsend will see 39 degrees.

A Total Fire Ban is in place for the Greater Hunter for the fourth day in a row with severe fire conditions due to the forecast hot and windy conditions.

There are currently 36 fires burning across NSW heading into today, 12 of those are uncontained.

Image MJF Productions.

TOTAL FIRE BAN in place for the Hunter

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Fire crews will be on high alert in the Hunter today with a TOTAL FIRE BAN in place for the region.

The mercury will soar to 43 degrees in Wallsend, and it'll even be 40 degrees in Newcastle throughout much of the day.

The fire conditions are rated as being Severe due to the hot and dry conditions - the advice from the Rural Fire Service today is to follow your bush survival plan if you need to and remain vigilant.

Ausgrid has cancelled some planned maintenance works across the region.

Works planned for Hexham, Singleton, Pokolbin and Woodville won't be going ahead today. Maintenance planned for Muscle Creek, Aberdeen, Sandy hollow, Keinbah, Myuna Bay and Wakefield will continue, but be shorter than planned so power can be restored by midday.

Keep Cool, We're in for a Scorcher

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Today is set to be an absolute scorcher in the Hunter and we're being reminded to not only keep ourselves cool, but our pets as well.

With the mercury tipped to hit 42 degrees in Wallsend and about the same in Singleton, local vets are reminding us to make sure we leave plenty of water around, see to it that there's plenty of shade for our pets to hide under and not exercise our pets, particularly dogs, during the hottest parts of the day if at all.

Director of the Newcastle Animal Referral and Emergency Centre and 2NURFM pet vet Dr David Tabrett said dogs in particular pant to try and keep cool, which requires lots of water.

"And that requires a lot of moisture to be available so its always important to have a lot of cool, fresh water sources available just in case they kick one over, it's important to make sure they've got a couple."

"We don't appreciate how quickly they can get overheated and I've had that experience with my dog and I'm an experienced vet of 30 years, where I've mi-judged the timing and she became overheated very quickly. So just be ever aware of your dogs behaviour changes or if they get gastrointestinal problems that certainly would be a sign," said David.

Summer is one of the most deadly times of the year for our pets, and new stats show 39 per cent of Australians are unaware of the signs that their dogs are suffering from heat exhaustion or dehydration.

David said it really doesn't take much for your dog to overheat in the scorching temperatures we get throughout the Hunter region.

"And that can take a mild exercise or for instance dogs with pushed in faces they don't tolerate heat very well. So the symptoms we would see are gastro-intestinal problems first of all, breathing problems and in some cases it can progress to neurological disease such as coma, convulsions and death."

If your pet's behaviour does change, or you notice they are suffering from heat stroke, contact your vet immediately.

The hot conditions have prompted paramedics to remind us to stay out of the sun and drink plenty of water.

Intensive Care Paramedic Alan Morrison said if your not feeling well, just get out of the sun.

"If you notice yourself suffering from some heat stress, take steps to cool yourself down with some fanning, maybe a damp cloth and getting out of the sun and into the shade."