It was a busy weekend for Southern Tablelands’ emergency services, which were called to fires, fallen trees and roof damage from Friday night’s storm.
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More than ten NSW Rural Fire Service brigades responded to local fires caused by lightning, while NSW State Emergency Services’ volunteers picked up the damage.
The first fire at Windellama on Friday evening kept the local RFS unit and five others, including Goulburn Mulwaree Support, out all night and on into Saturday.
The fire was surrounded by a lot of shrub, which units were still patrolling on Monday to for embers.
The second fire broke out at Springbank on Sunday and was attended to by eight units, including Bowning, Yass Support and Murrumbateman.
Although the fire was small, it was surrounded by a lot of shrub, requiring a large number of units to stop it from quickly spreading.
NSW RFS Superintendent Peter Alley reminded everyone to make sure they have a Bush Fire Survival Plan and that their properties are fire ready, including keeping grass low and the area around their home clear.
At the same time as the RFS was putting out fires, NSW SES units were dealing with fallen trees and roof damage in the area.
Gunning was particularly affected by the thunderstorm and volunteers from Collector and Crookwell were out all night clearing and fixing the damage.
Members of the Yass unit were also called to the ACT to help with storm damage in Canberra and more locally.
This is the NSW SES’ main storm season and Local Unit Commander Kurt Bailey advised everyone to cut back their trees and clean out their gutters in preparation.
- Visit rfs.nsw.gov.au to get a Bush Fire Survival Plan