The Rural Fire Service (RFS) reported two fires on Sunday – one racing across farm land east of Dunedoo and another on the edge of Narromine which was quickly extinguished by firefighters.

By 11am on Sunday the RFS reported 76 bush and grass fires across NSW, with 26 not contained come Sunday evening.

In Dubbo the scorching heat saw records shattered on Saturday as the city recorded its hottest February day since 2004. 

Temperatures peaked at 46.1 degrees, beating the previous record of 44.5 degrees set on February 15, 2004.

RFS public liaison officer, Matt Morwood, said the region faced unprecedented fire conditions that were rated “catastrophic” in several locations across the Central West. 

With the threat of potential fires of great concern, a large air tanker was deployed to the Dubbo Airport from Victoria. By Sunday afternoon ‘Hercules’ had been used to assist in a fire racing from Leadville, east of Dunedoo, to threaten small villages in the district. 

Mr Morwood said Hercules was based in Dubbo and available to help firefighters throughout the Central West and further afield if needed.

“It’s been moved to where we anticipate it might be needed and is positioned as such we can move it to where it is needed,” he said.

The Orana RFS had responded to minimal incidents by Sunday afternoon, although high winds and an evening storm forecast were concerning.

“Weather conditions have the potential for any fires that start to take hold and become quite uncontrollable and rapidly moving. These are really unprecedented conditions,” he said. 

“From a firefighting point of view the focus is on life essentially. We’re all about protecting life rather than potentially control fires that are uncontrollable.”

Catastrophic fire ratings had been issued only once before in NSW - in 2013. The catastrophic rating stretched from Dubbo to Coonabarabran to Port Stephens.

More reports P4 and P5.