The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) has scheduled a hazard reduction burn on Monday 20 September in the Sepoy section of the Gwydir River State Conservation Area (SCA), about 30kms east of Bingara and south of Inverell, weather permitting.
This burn is planned to cover an area of 65 hectares on the eastern side of the Copeton Dam Road finishing about one kilometre south of the Copeton Lake Tourist Park.
The Copeton Dam Road forms the western boundary of the burn area and traffic control will be in place over that section of the road while crews are operating from it.
The objectives of the burn include reducing available fuels in case of wildfire and to maintain a healthy landscape providing suitable habitat for a range of native plants and wildlife.
This burn is one of many hazard reduction operations undertaken by NPWS across New South Wales each year, many with assistance from the Rural Fire Service and Fire and Rescue NSW.
Hazard reduction burns are essential to reduce bushfire fuel loads to help protect the parks, neighbours and communities from bushfires.
Hazard reduction is a critical function of fire services and land managers which continue to operate in accordance with Public Health Orders. Operations are conducted in a COVID-19 safe manner to ensure the safety of fire crews and the community.
Fire agencies and land managers will be working to limit the potential impact of smoke, such as through smoke modelling and adjusting the times and lighting patterns of the burn to reduce the likelihood of widespread smoke impact.
All burns across NSW will continue to be coordinated with the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) and details on specific burns will be made available in advance on the Rural Fire Service website, 'Fires Near Me' app, and on NPWS Alerts website.
For health information relating to smoke from bush fires and hazard reduction burning, visit NSW Health or the Asthma Foundation.
For up to date information on this/these, and other, planned hazard reduction activities, visit the Rural Fire Service website: Rural Fire Service
