NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) firefighters were woken by a report of a fire in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park.
Just before 5.00am this morning (Monday, 23 October), NSW RFS received a Triple Zero (000) call from a vessel in Broken Bay, reporting a fire at Hungry Beach, Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park (map below).
With a total fire ban in force across Greater Sydney until midnight last night (Sunday 22 October), concern remained that if confirmed, with prevailing winds, an uncontained fire in that location risked spreading into the National Park.
The remote location of the reported fire prompted RFS fire control to activate boat crews from the Northern Beaches and Hornsby/Ku-ring-gai fire districts. West Pittwater and Scotland Island fire boats were activated from Pittwater, along with Dangar Island and Berowra Waters fire boats.
Coal and Candle Rural Fire Brigade made their way into Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park along West Head Road, providing first confirmation of a large column of smoke just after 5.30am. Minutes later, another Triple Zero (000) call had been received saying that a large amount of flame was visible.
West Pittwater Brigade arrived on scene shortly before 6.00am in the Elvina fire boat, reporting a significant area of bush alight, with fire running up the hill.
After initially attempting to make their way on foot through bush towards the fire, Coal and Candle Brigade were pulled back due to impassable terrain, and told to make their way to the fire by boat from Church Point.
With a number of firefighters arriving on scene by boat just before 6.15am, including additional crews from Ingleside and Terrey Hills, former Fire and Rescue NSW Commissioner and now senior volunteer RFS firefighter Greg Mullins AO AFSM is understood to have been in charge on the fireground.
Only recently, Mr Mullins warned of the increased risk of fire dangers this summer on the Northern Beaches. Firefighters arriving on scene were faced with the dilemma of attacking the fire directly in difficult and risky terrain, or establishing a wider containment strategy considering their limited resources and constrained ability to put water on the fire front.
Despite a total fire ban yesterday, the conditions on the fireground were calm in the early hours of the morning. The decision was taken to make an effort to attack the roughly 100m fire front while it was still considered possible to contain.
By 9.00am, over a dozen RFS firefighters were running hose lines connected to the pumps on the fire boats. They were supported by another dozen NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) Remote Area Fire Team (RAFT) firefighters who had been activated, along with a NPWS firefighting helicopter.
As the sun’s intensity grew, so did the fire behaviour, risking a break-out from the lines of containment that had been established. The timely arrival of the NPWS firefighting helicopter with water bucket ensured that firefighters could maintain the upper hand, and by 10.00am, they had established a perimeter around the whole fire.
The fire was reported as contained just after 11.30am, with RFS crews pulled out just before midday. NPWS firefighters remained on scene to conduct mopping up through the afternoon, with the NPWS helicopter no longer required and returning to base just before 2.00pm. No injuries were reported and no property was damaged.
A spokesperson for NSW RFS said the cause of the fire was under investigation and did not speculate on a cause. The Northern Beaches Advocate understands however that there is a strong indication that there were remnants of a campfire at Hungry Beach.
If that is the case, suspicion will fall on people who accessed the remote location by boat ignoring the total fire ban yesterday and lighting a fire on the beach, which they did not properly extinguish when they left. It is understood the matter will be referred to NSW Police if this finding is confirmed.
Fortunately, today’s fire conditions were rated as moderate, but a wider escape of fire into Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park could have had devastating consequences, even after recent hazard reduction burns.
In the wake of today’s fire, the NSW RFS spokesperson said Northern Beaches residents should all be using the Hazards Near Me NSW app, with an alert radius set to several kilometres to notify of new fires, and also urged residents to prepare their property now for the summer fire season.
Source : Northen Beach Avocate
