Residents in Yarramundi, Grose Vale, Agnes Banks and surrounding Hawkesbury communities may notice smoke from a planned hazard-reduction burn in Yellomundee Regional Park this weekend.
The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, supported by the NSW Rural Fire Service, plans to undertake the 24.8-hectare River Road hazard-reduction burn from Saturday, September 12, weather permitting.
The burn will be conducted on the Emu Heights side of Yellomundee Regional Park, south of Fitzgerald Creek and near the Nepean River Fire Trail, Grandview East Trail and Emu Plains Road access trail.
Although the operation is outside the Hawkesbury local government area, smoke may be visible across the river and could settle over Yarramundi, Grose Vale, Grose Wold, Agnes Banks and other nearby communities, depending on wind conditions.
The burn was originally scheduled for September 5 but could not proceed because a Total Fire Ban was declared for Greater Sydney amid Extreme fire danger conditions.
Parts of Yellomundee Regional Park will be closed from 6am Friday, September 11, until 5pm Thursday, September 17, to allow crews to prepare, conduct and patrol the burn.
The closures include:
- areas south of Fitzgerald Creek;
- Nepean River Fire Trail;
- Grandview East Trail;
- internal tracks and trails; and
- Emu Plains Road access trail.
Residents are asked not to enter closed areas and to follow all directions from firefighters and National Parks personnel.
People sensitive to smoke, particularly those with asthma or other respiratory or cardiovascular conditions, are advised to keep doors and windows closed, limit strenuous outdoor activity and keep required medication nearby.
Residents should also remove washing from clotheslines, place outdoor furniture under cover, protect pets and retract pool covers where possible.
Motorists travelling through smoke-affected areas should slow down, switch on their headlights and keep vehicle windows closed.
Hazard-reduction burns are intended to reduce accumulated vegetation and other ground fuels that could contribute to the intensity and spread of a future bushfire. They do not eliminate bushfire risk or replace the need for residents to maintain a bushfire survival plan.
The operation remains subject to weather, fuel moisture, smoke-dispersion conditions and the availability of firefighting resources. It may be postponed or altered at short notice if conditions become unsuitable.
Residents can monitor the NSW RFS website and Hazards Near Me app for current information.
