The NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) has announced that smoky conditions will continue in Sydney due to ongoing hazard reduction burns occurring on the city’s periphery. Since Saturday, approximately 5,000 hectares have been treated, although the agency remains significantly behind its annual hazard reduction goal.
An atmospheric inversion is predicted to trap smoke over Sydney tonight, but it is anticipated that winds will help disperse the smoke by late Friday morning. The RFS, in collaboration with the National Parks and Wildlife Service and local firefighting units, has been conducting these burns to utilize the dry and calm weather conditions.
Burning operations have taken place in various locations, including Hornsby in the north, Royal National Park to the south, the Blue Mountains in the west, and areas near Bargo in southwest Sydney. On Thursday alone, around 850 hectares were scheduled for burning, including a significant operation near Wentworth Falls in the Blue Mountains.
Gregory Allan from the NSW RFS noted that fire agencies are seizing the opportunity presented by the favorable weather conditions. He explained that the expected inversion would cause smoke from this week’s burns to settle over Sydney tonight.
“Smoke will likely be quite noticeable around the burn areas, spreading across the broader Greater Sydney region today. However, we expect it to clear as wind conditions improve tomorrow,” Mr. Allan stated during an interview with 702 ABC Sydney.
Despite a productive week for hazard reduction burns, the RFS is still far from meeting its target of 372,723 hectares for the current financial year, having treated only 48,000 hectares thus far. This shortfall can largely be attributed to an exceptionally wet August, which typically sees the majority of hazard burns conducted.
Mr. Allan emphasized the impact of rain and flooding on fire agencies’ ability to execute planned burns in recent years. “We will take every opportunity to conduct burns when favorable weather conditions arise,” he remarked.
During the fire season, firefighters have responded to over 10,200 bush and grass fires, which have collectively burned around 126,000 hectares across the state, according to RFS Commissioner Trent Curtin. This figure marks an increase from the previous financial year, where the RFS dealt with 7,217 fires affecting 80,078 hectares.
It is important to note that the number of fires and hectares burned may not provide an entirely accurate comparison across financial years. In the 2023-24 fire season, the RFS attended to 9,500 fires that impacted more than 507,000 hectares. Among the more severe incidents this season was a fire in Koolewong on the Central Coast, which resulted in the destruction of 16 homes.
