A fire raging south-west of Grafton on the NSW Mid North Coast escalated to Emergency level on Wednesday afternoon before being downgraded to Advice hours later. Residents in the region were advised to seek shelter as the fire exhibited erratic behavior.
NSW Rural Fire Service Deputy Commissioner Peter McKechnie described the fire as problematic, noting it was burning out of control about 3 kilometres north of Nymboida and had scorched 3,500 hectares. Residents in and around Glens Creek Rd, Martins Rd and Armidale Rd in the Blaxlands Flat area were told it was too late to leave and to seek shelter.
Elsewhere, a fire that closed the New England Highway in both directions between Muswellbrook and Singleton for several hours has been downgraded. The blaze at Ravensworth reached Watch and Act warning level before being reduced, with residents advised to remain on alert. A Transport Management Centre spokesperson suggested using the Golden Highway as an alternative.
Further south, a fire east of Scone in the Upper Hunter also escalated to Watch and Act before being downgraded to Advice after crews contained a breakout in its north-east corner. A total fire ban is in place for six regions in New South Wales, with extreme fire danger warnings for northern parts of the state.
The RFS earlier issued an extreme bushfire risk in the Hunter, North-Western and Northern Slopes regions amid temperatures reaching the mid-to-high 30s Celsius. Grafton recorded 40.1 degrees on Wednesday. RFS spokesperson Angela Burford warned that winds could push embers ahead of fire fronts, starting spot fires and challenging firefighters.
A cold front is expected to bring relief, with temperatures dropping significantly from the high 30s to mid-20s Celsius by Thursday. However, the Bureau of Meteorology's Jordan Notara said heavy rainfall is not anticipated, though some rain may assist firefighting efforts.
