Lightning sparked 15 fires across the Mid Lachlan Valley RFS region on the weekend, but our Rural Fire Service brigades were quick to respond.
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With winds gusting up to 81km an hour at the Parkes Airport and 74km an hour at Forbes Airport on Saturday, brigades took the initiative to have their fire trucks ready to respond.
When storms moved in, they were on hand and 11 fires detected Saturday were contained by the next morning. More emerged from those storms on Sunday morning.
The RFS Mid Lachlan Valley team through their Facebook page thanked the volunteers, staff, pilots and heavy plant operators who put in long hours to protect the community.
"We would also like to thank the landowners and farmers who followed our recommendation to stop harvest and especially to those who got in and helped our brigades in the field," they said.
Superintendent Ken Neville said most of the fires had occurred to the west of Forbes, and in the Lachlan Shire.
"The biggest was about 80 hectares (in Lachlan Shire) and did burn out about 60 hectares of unharvested barley," he said.
The Fires Near Me app also showed a blaze on The Driftway, Warroo, had burned out 65 hectares on Monday morning. Another on Dukes Road, Forbes, burned out 15 hectares.
On Monday afternoon, just before 2.30pm, brigades responded to a fire to the west of Parkes at Gunningbland, with firefighters getting the upper hand on the blaze which had burnt along the Middle Trundle Road and Wongalea Road by 2.50pm.
Supt Neville says the team is prepared for deteriorating weather conditions today, and he's urging all those involved in harvesting to monitor conditions again.
Please go online to check for updates, and please report any fires to 000 immediately.
