Scone Mountain fire – Wednesday

TODAY is predicted to be the worst day for the fire on Scone Mountain, with the highest danger between 10am and 8pm.

The extreme conditions and winds have created dangerous conditions.

Crews from Sydney and the Central Coast are also here today to support local crews.

On Monday and Tuesday the fire crews were able to take advantage of relatively better conditions to fortify and widen containment lines with heavy machinery and lay down water and fire retardant from the air.

Today aerial support will be focusing on putting out hot spots in the fire ground and people are urged to phone 000 immediately if they see any unattended spot fires.

Shellie Smyth from NSW Rural Fire Service said they don’t want to alarm people, but everyone in the Scone area needs their fire plan in place.

“Make sure your property is ready because there are embers that get ahead of the fire front that get blown by the wind and enter into properties,” Shellie Smyth said.

“The better your property is maintained the better protected it will be,” she said.

“Everybody in the Scone area needs to have their plan and their families need to know what it is, people need to know their plan and what the options are if the fire takes a run back towards them,” she said.

“It’s also important to look out for vulnerable people in the community, such as elderly people living alone,” she said.

RFS community liaison people will be door knocking residents to the south east of the fire today to discuss their plans and also check on their communication options.

Since a local communication tower went down during the fire many residents need to have alternatives such as radio communication in place, or someone who can alert them of changes.

Residents are encouraged to download the Hazards Near Me app to get notifications in their area and if you need advice you can phone the Bushfire Information Line: 1800 679 737.