AS THE fire danger increases with every hot day, firefighters ignited their own controlled burn on Saturday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The idea behind their madness was to extinguish the potential fire danger behind Golf Course Estate and along Racecourse Road.
Leeton Fire and Rescue and the Rural Fire Service (RFS) were among the crews working to reduce the chances of a large grass fire occurring this summer.
A grass fire at the same location in February, 2014 prompted authorities to take the situation into their own hands.
After a wet winter, long grass had become overgrown in the area, so together with Leeton Shire Council it was decided a controlled burn off should be held to prevent a similar situation.
Crews started igniting fires along the back side of Golf Course Estate on Saturday afternoon and then methodically worked their way north towards Racecourse Road and the Leeton Jockey Club.
The controlled burn went to plan and Leeton Fire and Rescue NSW Captain Graham Parks was pleased with the overall result.
“It burned real good and it cleaned it right up,” Captain Parks said.
It burned real good and it cleaned it right up.
- Leeton Fire and Rescue NSW Captain Graham Parks
“They’ve done a real good job of it and it was a good day to do it.”
The fire crews faced some difficulty in the process of the burn off, with tyres and other rubbish posing additional hazards.
Once alight, they produced toxic smoke and continued to burn long after the grass had been burned to the ground.
During the afternoon the firefighters eased their way across the paddock centimeter by centimeter, but under emergency conditions discarded rubbish and tyres do pose a safety risk.
Captain Parks said that precautions would be set in place to control illegal dumping.
“The shire’s going to be watching so anyone caught dumping rubbish in there (or in other places across the shire) will be fined,” he said.
Captain Parks felt the burn was successful in removing the fuel that could have led to a grass fire this summer when temperatures increase.
“There was a lot more fuel load (there) than I’ve seen in a long time,” Captain Parks said.
“Come January and February, on a real hot windy day, it could have been really bad. It’ll be safe now.”
Golf Course Estate resident Sharon Boots felt more comfortable now the fire danger at her doorstep had been reduced.
“They’ve got control of it,” she said. “It’s good to see RFS and the fire brigade work together.”
