A large grassfire that began on Saturday afternoon, 11 February, and which authorities believe likely started from a lightning strike, burning through more than 2,000 hectares of farmland over the weekend.
The fire burnt approximately 23 kilometres southwest of Yass and moved in an easterly direction towards Mountain Creek Road.
While the fire posed no direct threat to any homes in the area, firefighters strengthened containment lines, supported by aircraft and heavy machinery, with a focus on the northern edge.
Authorities were alerted to the blaze on Saturday afternoon, which mainly affected the Narrangullen area and spread rapidly due to strong winds and a large grass fuel load.
Rural Fire Service (RFS) crews from all around the region converged on the area to put out the fire, with over 80 volunteers from NSW and the ACT, as well as two water bombing aircraft.
Sheep and cattle were also affected because of the blaze, with some dying and many being injured.
Wee Jasper Road was closed due to the grassfire, with large plumes of black smoke visible from Yass and even as far as Canberra.
Yass RFS Captain James Alley said his crew and many others worked well to contain the grassfire, with different crews working around the clock to put out the fire and prevent it from spreading.
“The Yass RFS were out there from 7pm Saturday night to 7am Sunday morning. We also had the day shift on Sunday,” Alley said.
“We had six crew members from RFS Yass attend the fire and took one truck with us.
“The fire was fairly intense and spread across a large area. We patrolled the area to make sure we could contain it, while also making fire breaks around the fire so it couldn’t spread any further.
“It’s always a big group effort across all the RFS crews on a job like this. Everyone works together to put the fire under control and keep everyone safe.
“The Murrumbateman RFS Crew were also at the scene on the fire for large periods of time across the weekend.”
Tim Warren
