Although summer had long past, conditions were still dry enough to burn quickly, regional fire officer Henry Barton said.

“If people are burning off near plantations, bushland or cypress trees, sparks can jump and spread,”  he said.

“It’s still quite dry among bushland despite the rain we’ve had in recent times.” Local district fire brigades in 10 trucks plus a bulldozer and tanker from the Department of Environment, Water and Planning were engaged in extinguishing  the blaze on private land at Nebsworth after the alarm was raised at 11.20am. 

“It was in fairly inaccessible country and took about two hours to control,”  he said.

“We will continue to monitor it for the next few days.

“Police investigated, but it is not believed to have been lit illegally.”