Old pile fire sparked Dunns Creek blaze: RFS

Far South Coast RFS manager, John Cullen, said the 130-hectare fire was sparked by an old pile burn on a Woodlands property, with unusually dry conditions and powerful winds fueling its spread. 

Wednesday’s fire comes less than two weeks into the official bush fire danger period, with permits now required for burning activities.

The RFS advises permits may be cancelled if similar conditions continue.

“With the dry July and August, and now that we’re well and truly into September, with no rain, we are concerned,” Mr Cullen told the Bay Post/Moruya Examiner.

“We’re looking to the community to work alongside us and be vigilant with fire and the use of fire.”

Mr Cullen said, generally, people’s careless behaviour was concerning, with crews called to several escaped pile burns in recent weeks.

“We’ve had people burning off without a permit and not notifying they’re burning off,” he said.

“Even though some of these burns might be a month old, go back and check them.

“Any activities that people are conducting on their property, they should think about the risk of starting a fire.

“We encourage people to prepare and think about their actions on those bad days.”

The RFS has deployed two helicopters, dozers and seven units to tackle the blaze on Thursday, which has since spotted to a Malua Bay quarry, west of George Bass Drive and east of Burri Road. Patrols of further spotting near Annies Lane, Rosedale, were also a priority.

Mr Cullen said the main objective was preventing the fire’s spread north.

“Our objective today is to get a control line on the northern side of this fire, linking up from Dunns Creek round to Blackbutt Lane and Burri Road,” he said.

“On the southern side we don’t know where that fire is at the moment. That’s one of our priorities today, to find out where that is and get a control line through it.”

The alert level for the fire has been lowered from ‘watch and act’ to ‘advice’.