The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) will be conducting a hazard reduction burn in the Yarrowitch Valley within the Oxley Wild Rivers National Park from Saturday, 21 August 2021, weather permitting.
Fire crews will be working on the 2250-hectare burn, in the Green Gully area east of Walcha.
The work is expected to be finished by the following weekend breaking up fuel loads within the National Park to help prevent the spread of fire in the area from any future ignition.
Smoke may be visible from the Oxley Highway and Kangaroo Flat Road.
Another strategic burn is planned before September at the Basin Reserve east of Bundarra.
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.
COVID-19 safety briefings are provided to all staff who are required to wear masks along with their normal fire personal protective equipment. Contact tracing is also enabled via the QR code sign-in all fire crews must complete when starting.
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: NSW Rural Fire Service.
