Firefighters race against wind to contain fire

A large crop fire that ignited south of Parkes could have been much worse had it not been for the fast actions of firefighters before strong wind gusts hit the shire last Wednesday evening. About 30 firefighters from both the Rural Fire Service and Fire and Rescue NSW from the Parkes Shire and Forbes, with eight trucks, were called to a property on Back Yamma Road at 6.19pm. Crews were met with a running crop fire, battling the blaze alongside multiple private firefighting vehicles from surrounding properties and numerous community members who assisted. The fire burnt about 30 hectares, firefighters managing to keep it contained within the bounds of the crop it originated from on the one property. Firefighters managed to keep the 30-hectare fire contained within the bounds of the crop it originated from on the one property. RFS Mid Lachlan Valley Team district coordinator Lachlan Allan said machinery is the suspected cause of the fire. No structures were under direct threat by the fire. Crews handed the site back to the landholder about 8.10pm. "Luckily the fire was brought under control before the wind change hit with only minimal flare-ups that were extinguished quickly once visibility returned and further extinguished by the rain that followed," Mr Allan said. Strong winds swept across the Parkes and Forbes shires half an hour to an hour into the firefighting effort. While the Bureau of Meteorology hadn't recorded wind gust speeds at its weather station at the Parkes Airport at the time, it did at the Forbes Airport with speeds peaking at 65km/h at 5.50pm. It was enough to blow vegetation and debris into powerlines causing blackouts to almost 140 homes and businesses in Forbes and a third of the Parkes Shire in the east and south. The Parkes Headquarters Rural Fire Brigade said the Back Yamma Road fire was successfully controlled and extinguished thanks to a big effort from all involved. "A huge thank you to the farmers and local landowners who came quickly with personal firefighting appliances, and to Steve Magill Earthmoving for supplying their bulk water tanker," they said in a post on social media. Mr Allan added the fire was another example of RFS, FRNSW and community members coming together to keep fires small and protect property, livelihoods and our communities.