After two incredibly wet years authorities are warning people to brace for a dangerous bushfire season ahead.
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During the past two years the La Nina weather system brought record rain and floods to much of the country, leading to enormous vegetation growth.
That's prompted concerns after the Bureau of Meteorology declared a return to the predominantly hot and dry El Nino system this summer.
Inspector Ben Shepherd from the NSW Rural Fire Service says 200 firefighters attended more than 60 grassfires, bushfires and spot fires across the state over the weekend after strong westerly winds fanned blazes and he warns it's a harbinger of things to come over the summer bushfire season.
"We're now starting to see conditions dry quite rapidly across NSW," he told ABC TV on Monday.
Meanwhile, the hazard reduction program has been stalled by the lingering wet weather, leaving the state vulnerable with very high fuel loads.
"So it is going to be problematic in the coming weeks and months and we just need people to be prepared," Mr Shepherd said.
"Once this El Nino really takes hold and we start to see that real shifting of drier and warmer conditions, we may actually see that window of opportunity start to close and we start to see conditions become too dangerous for hazard-reduction burns," he said.
"This is why there's going to be an onus very much back on property owners to ensure that their level of preparedness is at the highest level."
He is asking home owners to plan for ahead for what they will do during a fire, where they can go, and what they are going to take with them.
They are also urged to keep grass cut, move wood piles away from houses, empty gutters and have a hose that reaches the whole way around their house or property.
"Start keeping yourself up to date because I think that the weekend has shown that we can get fires at any time of the year ... and that's where the level of preparedness will make a difference."
Australian Associated Press
