A four wheel drive towing a jet ski which caught fire on Sunday spread to adjacent bush land in the Pilliga Forest, burning 1000 hectares, the Rural Fire Service (RFS)
says.
The Newell Highway between Narrabri and Coonabarabran was closed on Sunday afternoon and re-opened on Monday morning.
Brett Loughlin from the Namoi-Gwydir RFS, said the Castlereagh zone of the RFS responded to the blaze, with Namoi-Gwydir crews kept on standby to assist.
“Luckily they weren’t required,” said Mr Loughlin.
“RFS and National Parks crews worked throughout the night to get containment lines around the whole fire and completed a large section of back burning along the Newell Highway.”
With temperatures expected to be between 35 and 40 degrees over the next week, Mr Loughlin said residents should not become complacent.
“We’re looking at a really awful lead up to Christmas,” he said.
“Even though permits are accessible at the moment we’re urging people to hold off any burning until the new year because the risk right now of starting a fire, that will impact our hard working volunteers over Christmas, is pretty high.”