Properties under threat in Northern Rivers as fires blaze across state

Firefighters are working to save a number of properties in the state’s Northern Rivers region after a fire about 30 kilometres south-west of Grafton broke containment lines.

Residents on Glens Creek Road and Frickers Road in Nymboida have been told it’s too late to leave and to take immediate shelter due to the bushfire that has already burnt through more than 500 hectares.

The NSW Rural Fire Service issued the emergency alert for the blaze just before 1.30pm, telling residents the fire was nearing isolated properties.

“Seek shelter in a solid structure such as a house. Do not be caught in the open in the path of the fire,” the alert said.

“Go inside and protect yourself from the fire front.”

All other residents in Nymboida have been told to follow the directions of emergency personnel on the ground and to leave if not prepared at “the highest level”.

The fire, stretching across 1025 hectares, was downgraded late on Sunday night but broke through RFS containment lines on Monday afternoon.

Closer to Sydney, firefighters spent the afternoon battling a grass fire in the city’s west.

The fire, burning at Hickeys Lane in Penrith, was contained about 4pm. However, it remains at advice level and nearby residents have been told to closely monitor conditions.

RFS inspector Ben Shepherd said the fire was a warning for Sydneysiders ahead of summer.

“It’s clearly demonstrating just how dry it is, not just across Sydney but across the state at the moment,” he told 2GB radio.

The cause of the Penrith fire has not yet been identified, and authorities will monitor the blaze to make sure it doesn’t reignite.

Strong winds and hot temperatures are expected to continue across NSW until Thursday.

As of 8.45pm, there were 67 fires burning across the state, with six out of control.

A fire at Bald Blair near Armidale was briefly upgraded to a watch and act level, but is now being brought under control.

Meanwhile, Sydney Water has warned water restrictions could return in a little over a year if dry conditions continue as expected and dam levels plummet.

The state utility said Sydney could be under level-one water restrictions sometime between November next year and early 2025 as an El Nino weather event brings lower rainfall.

Level-one restrictions include a ban on the watering of lawns and water play with toys and slides, as well as restrictions on watering gardens to every second day for one hour.

Swathes of NSW, including Sydney, are predicted to swelter through a hot and dry summer after the state’s driest September in more than three decades.

Sydney Water said people were being urged to minimise water use heading into what could be one of the hottest summers to date.

“Drought in Australia is cyclic and inevitable, and recent advice indicates we are moving into a phase where rain is expected to hit historic lows over the next 12 months,” it said in a statement on Monday.

The government-owned company said with no significant rainfall since November 2022, Sydney’s Warragamba dam had dropped to 94 per cent capacity.

With AAP

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