PHOTO: smoke rises from a bushfire near Gulargambone’s Stuart Park on 20 February 2026.
It may have been a relatively quiet few weeks, but firefighters say Coonamble Shire is not out of the furnace yet.
The Rural Fire Service have seen at least 50 incidents within the district, around 60 per cent of them fire-related.
Barring a 14-hectare blaze threatening Gulargambone’s town limits on Friday 20 February, Coonamble-based Operational Officer Darryl Foster said there hasn’t been a huge amount of action in the township over the last month.
“We are seeing relatively low fuel loads within the vegetation, so you’re not getting massive spread risk at the moment,” he said.
“If you look around town at the moment, everything’s pretty much dead, and there’s a lot of vegetation that is just not growing at all.
“There’s a lot of dirt around at the moment, which definitely helps us in terms of fire management.
“However, with a couple of days of rain you’ll start to see that growth pick up again. “Followed by some hot days, that growth will dry up pretty quickly and can turn into fires.”
Mr Foster also said that the number of incidents over the last three months are consistent with previous summer periods.
He said firefighters managed to keep blazes relatively small, while there was a decline in fires reported outside the town boundaries.
Throughout the RFS North West district, which includes the Coonamble, Walgett, Bogan and Warren shires, the service attended at least 220 incidents, while around 130 were bush, grass and crop fires over summer.
Other jobs included structure fires, motor vehicle accidents and assisting police.
At Fire and Rescue, which typically covers fires within Coonamble township, captain Andrew Morley said the last few months have been quieter than the average summer, when they usually receive 20-30 calls.
Most of their callouts have been for small grass fires along the Castlereagh River.
“We’ve dodged the bullet to a degree this year, so far,” he said.
“We’re still not out of the woods.
“Just be vigilant. Reporting any fires you do see. We are still in the high fire danger period.”
He also said there was still a lot of fuel along the river.
However, Mr Foster said vegetation in that area is typically too patchy for fires to grow large enough to threaten properties.
The Bush Fire Danger Period began in October and is currently scheduled to end on 31 March.
That means residents need a permit from the Rural Fire Service to light an open fire.
They also have to inform their neighbours 24 hours ahead of time.
Residents in the shire can contact the Coonamble FRS centre for a permit.
Mr Foster also said residents should have their bushfire survival plans in place.