Arabic version: نيو ساوث ويلز تُسرّع عمليات الحرق الوقائي قبل موسم الحرائق

According to ABC News, the NSW Rural Fire Service has accelerated hazard reduction burns as authorities prepare for a summer expected to bring elevated fire danger. Above-average temperatures and below-average rainfall are forecast, following the Bureau of Meteorology’s confirmation of El Niño conditions earlier this year.

RFS Commissioner Trent Curtin said the service had increased hazard reduction burning by 21 per cent since July last year, helped by improved weather conditions. He said 124,000 hectares had been treated across NSW in the past year, after recent years in which rain reduced available burning windows and increased fuel across landscapes.

More than 15 organisations attended a bushfire preparedness roundtable, including the RFS, Fire and Rescue NSW, the National Parks and Wildlife Service, and the Forestry Corporation. Emergency Services Minister Jihad Dib said agencies would use every opportunity to continue hazard reduction work before summer, while Environment Minister Penny Sharpe said cooperation was crucial ahead of a “long, hot summer”.

Residents are being urged to prepare early by cleaning gutters, trimming trees, keeping grass low and developing bushfire survival plans. The bushfire danger period begins on October 1 for most of NSW, although some northern areas are expected to enter it earlier. About 37 per cent of the state was in drought or drought-affected at the end of July, according to the Department of Primary Industries.