Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Sporadic winds kept firefighters throughout the Hunter busy yesterday with bushfires at Kurri Kurri/Pelaw Main, Swan Bay, Dungog and the Wallaroo National Park.
Three helicopters were on the scene at Pelaw Main – the most threatening of the fires – drawing water from a nearby creek and dumping it in the path of the fire not far from about 60 houses in Neath, Greta and Wallsend streets yesterday afternoon.
But Mother Nature did offer some help when a change of wind direction blew the flames southward, away from the buildings, just in the nick of time.
Bushfire teams had earlier raced to block off the fire after flames bounced across Leggetts Drive, enveloping the town and nearby Kurri Kurri in a pall of black smoke.
Firefighters were still bracing themselves late yesterday in containment areas dotted around the area. .
“We are relieved – the fires passed south of the Pelaw Main homes and the situation eased a bit,” NSW Rural Fire Service Inspector Ben Shepherd said.
“We are still asking people to remain vigilant.”
While some were still fighting the flames, other firefighters were backburning selected areas.
The fire started in the Hunter Economic Zone near Hez Street , then jumped the railway line that takes tourists to the Richmond Vale Railway Museum.
Officers from Kurri Kurri Fire and Rescue under Captain Ken Maxwell joined NSW Rural Fire Service crews from Greta, Bishops Bridge, Lochinvar and Neath to combat the threat.
The flames crackled their way across the railway line, then the threat came to homes around Leggetts Drive.
Bert Pipan from the RFS Maitland said there were still 22 fire vehicles and 70 firefighters on the scene building containment lines and backburning while the fire was downgraded to Advice level.
“It's been a busy weekend for us here in the Hunter,” Mr Pipan said.
“We have had fire crews from Lake Macquarie, Great Lakes, Dungog, Maitland, Cessnock, Neath Fire & Rescue NSW and National Parks and Wildlife fighting the fires.”
The Swan Bay fire had threatened homes on Saturday but these were saved with the untiring work of the Rural Fire Service firies.
That fire continued to burn last night and had wiped out 1100 hectares of bush.
Fifteen vehicles and 50 firefighters were at the blaze last night, fighting to keep the blaze, which started before the storm hit, contained.
The fires at Dungog, at the top of Lostock Dam, and Wallaroo were smaller but together there were 16 fire trucks and 54 crew fighting the fires last night.
Mr Pipan said cooler weather was expected to continue for the next few days, but no rain was predicted.
