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Fire at Munibung Hill

PICTURE: Fire officers attending to the grass fire burning in the first week of January. Source: NSW Fire and Rescue, Cardiff Facebook page. More images at: https://www.facebook.com/cardifffirestation/
 
Cause of fire at Munibung Hill still unknown
It could have been worse. Over the course of four days a grass fire that burnt out about 5 hectares, kept flaring up and smoldering away in the bush.

AN INCIDENT on the north-western slopes of Munibung Hill, reported by Heidi Leeming – a MHCS member – prompted further investigation that revealed the following:
 
MONDAY 2 JANUARY, 2023.  FOURTH ALARM* GRASS FIRE – Munibung Hill
Just before 1 pm today crews from Cardiff and Fire and Rescue NSW Station 458 Teralba were turned out to reports of a grass fire in Boolaroo.

Upon arrival, the incident was quickly escalated to call in more resources, with appliances from Fire and Rescue NSW Station, Holmesville, Tingira Heights, and the NSW Rural Fire Service arriving quickly on the scene. They were joined by the Rehabilitation Van from Fire and Rescue NSW Station 377 Minmi, as well as the Bushfire Officer (BFO) from Fire and Rescue NSW.

Despite the difficult access to the fire, crews working in a variety of locations, assisted by a helicopter providing aerial fire attack, quickly got the fire under control, preventing it from spreading further into the bush land around Munibung Hill. Patrols of the area continued overnight.

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TUESDAY 3 JANUARY. Fire and Rescue NSW Station 251 Cardiff has been turned out to reports of smoke issuing from an area of bush that was alight yesterday. There is currently no threat to any properties and while the fire is not growing, there are some hot spots still smoldering. There are currently crews on the ground monitoring the fire and there may be increased activity of fire trucks in the area surrounding Milburn Circuit.

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WEDNESDAY 4 JANUARY. You might have seen us on top of Munibung Hill this afternoon. Following reports of a flare-up following Monday’s grass fire, crews from Cardiff and Fire and Rescue NSW Station 458 Teralba returned to the area to make investigations.
 
Gaining access by 4WD tanker, and then on foot, crews discovered a number of logs and small sections of flame. Given the distance of these fires from our appliances, the steep terrain, the amount of material involved, and the proximity of unburnt scrub, our normal methods of firefighting were unavailable to us.
 
Thankfully, it wasn’t long before we had some help from Mother Nature – with a decent amount of rain wetting down the area enough to extinguish the flame and prevent further spread.This area will continue to be monitored over the next few days.

Report source: Facebook posts – Fire and Rescue NSW Station, Cardiff

Editors note: * On a 6 scale rating, the Alarm Response code placed this fire as a 4th alarm (see the link for details) … 8 Pumpers, 1 pump RIT, 2 Aerials, 1 Rescue, 2 HAZMAT, LSV, MCC(Mobile Command Centre) 3 Duty Commanders and 2 Superintendents.

MMM … Issue 36, February – March 2023