Spate of grass fires in Bathurst despite winter weather

Rural Fire Service (RFS) brigades have been kept busy in recent weeks attending to a number of grass fires across the region.

Bill Robb, the operational preparedness officer for the RFS Chifley/Lithgow Team, said the fires were accidental and were the result of registered burns getting out of control.

He said this can happen simply when the wind picks up, sending the fire into the long grass.

"Sometimes it just gets away from [the property owner] because of a bit of a wind pick up or whatnot and they do their best to try to get it under control," Mr Robb said.

Thankfully, the fires have been relatively small in size and RFS crews have been able to contain them.

However, it has been challenging at times, with the sodden ground making it difficult to get the trucks through.

While people aren't required to get a permit to be able to conduct burns on their properties at the moment, they do need to notify the RFS of their plans 24 hours in advance.

Mr Robb said notification is important, particularly in the event that things get out of control.

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"It is important so we can actually assess the situation and make sure there are no serious threats, and fortunately there haven't been," he said.

"If they have told us about the burn we can be a bit forewarned about it. We still have to go out if someone rings Triple-0 to go out and have a look at it, but it's nice to know someone has notified us and we can see it on the system so we are a bit pre-warned."

RFS personnel are already preparing for the next fire season, which typically starts on October 1.

At this stage, the outlook for the season is good, but it important for everyone to remain vigilant.

"The long-range weather forecast is basically predicting it will still be quite a moist, wet time. In saying that, we are still going to have grass fires, but with preparations for both our volunteers and our community, depending on where they are going to happen, they should hopefully be not too much of a threat," Mr Robb said.

It is also hoped that a new Australian Fire Danger Rating System (AFDRS) will better prepare people and decrease the likelihood of loss of life or property.

The new fire danger ratings have four levels, instead of six, which are Moderate, High, Extreme and Catastrophic.

There'll be actions for each level, so people know what to do to protect their lives, family and property.

The new ratings will be available in September.

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