Lightning storms moving across the Snowy Valleys area have sparked new fires and the area is being impacted by smoke on Friday night.

The Rural Fire Service will run observation flights at first light on Saturday to locate all new fires.

The RFS Fires Near Me online incident map has been updated with new fires at Mount Horeb and Mount Adrah near Adelong. 

The Snowy Valleys has been declared a Section 44 emergency as bringing the current fires under control  has been judged to be beyond the capabilities of the region’s resources. 

The declaration has given Riverina Highlands RFS access to firefighting resources from across the state.

An RFS spokesman said the fires were contained to remote forest areas on Friday night and did not pose a direct threat to homes.

“The incident controller is considering his options for containment,” the spokesman said.

“It will be a combination of backburning, using established control lines and creating new control lines, whether using bulldozers, fire retardant or hand tools.

“It will be a Section 44 for a period of time until the RFS and local bushfire management committee has satisfied that the fire has been brought within control or extinguished.”  

The RFS has not received any reports of property damage. 

“Firefighters, water-bombing aircraft and heavy plant, are working to slow the progress of these fires,” an RFS statement said.

“Smoke from these fires are likely to impact residents and visitors in the Talbingo and Blowering Dam areas.

“Kosciuszko National Park Road 5 is closed between Khancoban and Cabramurra.

“The Snowy Highway remains open however smoke in the area is affecting visibility. Motorists are advised to exercise caution and drive to the conditions.”

EARLIER – 2.30pm

The Snowy Valleys town of Talbingo will likely be hit by an ember attack when cool change winds encounter bushfires on Friday evening.

Riverina Highlands Rural Fire Service has anticipated that the wind change was likely to occur between 5pm and 8pm on Friday.

Talbingo is not under direct threat from a fire at Little Talbingo Mountain, but the flying embers could start new fires in and around the town.

If not brought under control, multiple fires in the Snowy Valleys area could cut off the main power line for Wagga and the phone lines to Tumut.

Riverina Highlands RFS public liaison officer Peter Jones told The Daily Advertiser that the wind change would likely send embers from a fire above Talbingo down onto the town.

“The fire is above Talbingo, on quite steep terrain on Little Talbingo Mountain so it’s almost impossible to put ground crews on,” he said.

“All we have got is aircraft bombing it at this time.

“Weather conditions are suggesting it is pushing to the south rather than into Talbingo, but we have got a wind change due this afternoon that is going to push up from the south and blow embers across the township.

“Technically, the town is not under threat at this time but they are going to get impacted by embers and smoke later this afternoon and into the evening.”

Mr Jones said Talbingo residents should keep themselves up to date with fire information.

“They should keep abreast of the situation, as things change,” he said.

“We may potentially get some more lightning as well, so as a result we may have more fires start.”

“For Talbingo, people should keep updated on the situation and activate their bushfire survival plan if they haven’t already prepared.”

The Snowy Mountains Highway is open at this stage.

Firefighters have been working since Thursday afternoon to contain fires started by lightning.

The RFS said crews were “making some progress in trying conditions” supported by aircraft and heavy machinery.

Other fires in the Snowy Valleys burning on Friday afternoon could pose a threat to telecommunications lines to Tumut and a major power transmission line between NSW and Victoria.

Mr Jones said a fire at West Blowering Road near Tumut had burned uphill and had reached the Wereboldera State Conservation Area.

“We have got some critical infrastructure to the north for that fire, the whole township’s phone infrastructure is on top of that hill,” he said.

“We have managed to get a couple of decent control lines in place but we have to let the fire burn to us because it’s in pretty remote and ordinary country so we can’t get any vehicles to the head of the fire.

“We have got aircraft bombing it as well.”

Mr Jones said multiple fires at Welumba, east of Tooma was threatening major interstate power transmission lines, and the RFS was trying to avoid having to shut the lines down.

“We’re trying to put those fires out. With fires around power lines, it makes it quite difficult for aircraft to water bomb.

“Ground crews and machinery are doing what they can.

“It’s the main link for power between Sydney and Victoria and the transmission for Snowy Hydro power.”

Shutting down the power link could severely impact electricity services for Wagga and Albury.

The RFS has declared a Total Fire Ban for Friday in the Eastern Riverina and Southern Slopes fire areas.