A fire has burnt 17 hectares in bush country north of Dubbo on Sunday but early detection and an all-out effort has stopped it from causing far greater destruction.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) sent 13 tankers with nearly 40 firefighters to the blaze on private property near the Goonoo National Park.
They were supported by machinery from other agencies and a fixed-wing water bomber.
Firefighters regard it as a "great save" that was helped by "benign" weather conditions and a local brigade group captain who saw the smoke early and called it in.
The NSW RFS reports the fire broke out as a result of Friday's lightning strikes.
RFS Orana team district service coordinator Mark Pickford said a call had come in about 1pm of a smoke sighting north-east of Mogriguy and east of Eumungerie - the concerning vicinity of the Goonoo National Park.
"We sent people to investigate and ended up having to have nearly 40 firefighters on that, 13 tankers, we got some council heavy plant, National Parks [and Wildlife Service] had a machine there as well," Mr Pickford said.
...a big effort by the crews yesterday afternoon to keep a little fire from becoming, it had the potential to be a very big one.
- NSW Rural Fire Service Orana team district service coordinator Mark Pickford
"We had three runs with a water bomber from Scone as well, they bombed it and knocked it about a bit so we could get control of it.
"The fire ended up burning nearly 17 hectares, it was in private country but it was very close to the national park and a big effort by the crews yesterday afternoon to keep a little fire from becoming, it had the potential to be a very big one."
The RFS thanked its volunteers and support staff, describing the action as "a great save" on social media.
"...anywhere on the north-western side of the Goonoo, it just has so much potential to go bang if it gets in there on a bad day," Mr Pickford said.
"We were very fortunate this time."
Crews remained on the ground on Monday.
"We've got a number of crews out there at the moment... and then we've got another lot going out there again this afternoon and tonight just working on blacking out that fire before Wednesday, when they're talking about a bit of ordinary weather," Mr Pickford said.