Be prepared for fire danger
Published Date: 13 Jan 2016
Summary
By Kim Bartley
The Orana Team of the NSW Rural Fire Service ( NSW RFS) is advising them against indiscriminate use of farming equipment and driving through paddocks in the heat.
Manager of the Orana Team of the NSW Rural Fire Service Lyndon Wieland is warning that "one spark, one hot exhaust pipe" could cause a fire in current hot and dry conditions. Photo: BROOK KELLEHEAR-SMITH
The team was on tenterhooks on Tuesday morning as the temperature soared again and wind gusts were at 30 km/h.
"It's a recipe for disaster but particularly if people are doing anything in dry vegetation for example welding or grinding," team manager Superintendent Lyndon Wieland said.
"Even riding or driving vehicles through stubble paddocks or long dry vegetation would be a real risk today.
"One spark, one hot exhaust pipe, that's all it takes.
"With the wind and the heat, a fire would take a lot of controlling in certain areas such as grasslands and bushland."
Superintendent Wieland's advice to landholders using equipment known to start fires is clear.
"If you've got to do it, do it at daylight and have a fire-fighting appliance with you," he said.
"Have someone watching you with the fire-fighting appliance running."
The manager is hopeful that residents of the Orana fire region comprising Dubbo, Wellington and Narromine are exercising caution.
"I'm sure they don't want to have all their feed burned out at the moment, because that would put them straight into a drought situation," he said.
Superintendent Wieland said Monday had been a "mongrel of a day" with Tuesday "not shaping up much better" and Wednesday likely to be "very similar".
He said the team had received only a couple of callouts since the weather had started to warm up at the weekend.
A campfire near the Macquarie River off Old Dubbo Road was quickly put out by the Eschol brigade on Sunday.
Heat in the region is not expected to abate until the end of the week.
The Bureau of Meteorology predicted on Tuesday that a top temperature of 41 degrees Celsius at Dubbo would be followed by 41 degrees on Wednesday, 40 degrees on Thursday and 26 degrees on Friday.
The best chance of rain is on Thursday when there is a 60 per cent chance of up to 5 millimetres falling.
Late on Tuesday the NSW RFS reported of a total fire ban for the Lower Central West Plains on Wednesday "due to forecast hot, dry and windy conditions".
The total fire ban began at midnight and covers Dubbo, Bland, Forbes, Lachlan, Narromine, Parkes, Temora, Weddin and Wellington local government areas.
