Wagga’s Rural Fire Service is “preparing for the worst” this summer, owing to a flammable combination of scorching temperatures and dense dry grass.
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It comes after a blaze ripped through 5500 hectares near West Wyalong late last week, killing 600 sheep and destroying $500,000 worth of crops.
Local firefighters put out two grass fires before 9am on Sunday – just the fourth day of summer – which NSW Rural Fire Service Wagga Community Safety Officer Jonty Bruce predicted was a sign of things to come.
“After the wet weather we had over winter, the grass is longer and thicker than normal,” Mr Bruce said.
“Because it’s so flat, the water doesn't take long to be sucked up into crops and grasses, and as soon as we get wind and hot weather it dries right out.
“We’re averaging one fire a day at the moment, which is a fair amount for us.
“We’re also sending out more trucks than we need, to get on top of fires before they get on top of us.”
Mr Bruce said Wagga is overdue for a dry thunderstorm, which is a common cause of bushfires, along with smokers tossing cigarette butts out their windows and thieves torching stolen cars.
“We often see dry lightning storms towards the end of November, but we haven't had a bad one yet,” he said.
“Cigarettes are a big problem, especially on highways going out to Junee, Coolamon and The Rock; where we always see one or two fires in the season.
“We also get the typical car theft that ends up in the bush torched.”
Sunday’s fire danger was “severe” throughout the southern Riverina as hot, dry and fresh northerly winds picked up.
According to the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), there is an 80 per cent chance of warmer than average days during the summer months and a low chance of exceeding the average rainfall.
The official outlook for December to February is for a “hot, dry summer” according to BOM forecaster Sarah Chadwick.
“There’s a 90 per cent chance of December being warmer than average and a 70 per cent chance of a warmer than average in February,” she said.
Rain and possible thunderstorms are expected when a low front moves through Wagga on Monday.
The mercury will plummet by nearly ten degrees between Sunday’s high of 37 degrees and Tuesday’s top temperature of 29 degrees.
