NSW: Bushfire crews want mild conditions but not light rain

AAP General News (Australia)
12-03-2006
NSW: Bushfire crews want mild conditions but not light rain

SYDNEY, Dec 3 AAP - Firefighters have welcomed milder weather conditions at NSW bushfire
hotspots, but light rain is proving more of a hindrance than a help.

Cooler temperatures are being experienced through much of the state, including around
the western areas of Mudgee, Coonabarabran and Narrabri where major bushfires are burning.

However, Rural Fire Service (RFS) spokeswoman Rebel Talbert said the rain was not helping
backburning operations.

"It's cooled right down across the entire state which is good because it gives us an
opportunity to get in there and do some containment work on these fires," she said.

"But some of the rain we've received is hampering the backburning efforts."

It would take "copious amounts of rain for weeks on end" for it to have any positive
affect, she said.

Backburning operations over the next three days will be vital for fire crews, with
early forecasts predicting a return to extreme conditions on Wednesday.

About 200 firefighters will spend today attempting to work on a series of fires burning
around Coonabarabran, including one that poses a threat to a large koala population in
the Pilliga Nature Reserve.

Coonabarabran residents are also being urged to prepare their homes for the onset of
fire, with another blaze burning around Timor Road.

In Narrabri, backburning operations will also continue on a series of fires that have
already burnt out more than 14,000 hectares.

Crews in Mudgee have also been hampered by rain as they try to contain a blaze in the
Wallaby Rocks areas.

Blazes are also burning around Mudgee in the Bylong complex and Blue Springs.

No fires are currently posing any immediate threat to property.

AAP nr/nf

KEYWORD: BUSHFIRES NSW DAYLEAD

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