Suspected lightning strikes cause Cranbrook, Burrendong fires

NSW Rural FIre Service Chief Superintendent and Western Area Commander, Tim Butcher, said about 60 firefighters battled the Cranbrook blaze during the afternoon and evening of Monday, March 6, managing to stop it only a few kilometres from the town of Toongi.

People in Toongi were under an emergency warning and told to shelter in place on Monday afternoon, before the fire was downgraded overnight. On Tuesday morning, the fire was at an advice level and was actively being controlled by the RFS, having burned through 453 hectares of land.

READ ALSO: Photos and video from the Cranbrook bushfire now being controlled

Chief Superintendent Butcher said firefighters were supported by a bulldozer, two graders and two helicopters, as well as a large air tanker dropping fire retardant twice.

"They worked all day and night to bring the fire under control and then we had 30 crew members take over at night time and we had the heavy plant [equipment] working at night, too," Chief Superintendent Butcher told the Daily Liberal.

Similar numbers are working to contain the fire today, which is at a reduced threat.

The terrain has made firefighting efforts challenging on the western side of the fire, with black pine scrub on hilly land making it difficult to access and "creating ember sources for the winds".

"As the wind picks up it picks up the embers from the scrub and pushes them out to the grasslands," Chief Superintendent Butcher said.

"Fires in the grasslands at the moment are highly dangerous. A small spark can set off a grass fire and that can spread up to three kilometres-an-hour downwind."

Chief Superintendent Butcher said the combined efforts were able to stop the fire about three kilometres west of Toongi, but "the concern today is another spark will set the fire off again".

He said people should "absolutely stay out of the area" today.

"These grass fires under conditions we are facing today with easterly winds and it's so hot and dry, the fire can behave unpredictably and can escalate very quickly," he said.

"We recommend people keep a lookout on their own surroundings and also monitor the RFS websites and the Hazards Near Me app which they can get from their mobile phones."

Though there have been no reports of structural loss, crews are working hard to save the grassland which is valuable grain country.

Conditions in Dubbo are set to heat-up again on Tuesday with the Bureau of Meteorology forecasting a maximum temperature of 32 degrees Celsius with light winds becoming west to south-westerly up to 25 kilometres-per-hour. The region is under a high fire danger rating today.

"Today we've got conditions very similar to yesterday and a grassfire can pick up and run extremely quickly," Chief Superintendent Butcher said.

A bushfire near Lake Burrendong and Dripstone is at advice level and being controlled.

Chief Superintendent Butcher said the fire has reached the vicinity of the Burrendong Dam and picnic area and crews are working today to keep the fire to the east and south of the Macquarie River.

"The fire started in inaccessible country which was fairly steep and scrubby. We had 50 firefighters with two bulldozers and two aircraft on that [fire] and we used the large air tanker as well to protect Ridgecrest where there are a few houses," he said.

Chief Superintendent Butcher said, given the last six weeks of dry weather, the medium-to-heavy fuel loads - which included logs the size of a human arm or bigger - were very dry, making bushfires "really, really hard to put out".

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"You put them out, put water on them to cool them down, and you come back in an hour's time and they're burning again," he said.

"The difficulty with the [Lake Burrendong] fire is the amount of timber there and stopping those sparks from getting away and carrying."

He said there were no specific concerns for another grassfire in the area of Old Mendooran Road, Bruah, which is at advice level.

His message to the community was: "I'd like people to consider what they would do if they were to be affected by fire. Consider whether they would leave early or stay and defend and what that means."

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