As the sun gets warmer and the days get longer, local fire brigades are getting ready for the worst, and want the public to prepare too. 

Several brigades in the region are holding events in public parks or at their local stations this weekend to share information about how to stay safe and householders are also being urged to start the steps to protect themselves and their property.

Despite rain being ahead, Orana-based RFS officer Peter Fothergill said preparation is still important. 

“We’ll probably see a decrease in rain around November and once it heats up the grass will start to cure,” Mr Fothergill said. 

While bushfires may not be the main concern, the season could lead to devastating grassfires which are the most common event in the wider Western Plains. 

“A bushfire is a bit slower moving because there’s heavier fuels such as trees and logs. When you go out into a grass fire, they’re finer fuels so they burn faster and they easily combust,” Mr Fothergill said. 

This grassfire closed the highway south of Walgett a couple of weeks ago.

Locals are still urged to take regular precautions, such as keeping grass short and combustibles away from the house, as well as measures to counter danger from the longer grass. 

“Stick to designated tracks when you can when you’re driving through long grass. We find that driving through long grass with motorbikes and vehicles the hot exhaust will be an ignition source to starting fires,” Mr Fothergill said. 

Minister for Emergency Services and Resilience and Minister for Flood Recovery Steph Cooke said Get Ready Weekend should remind people to ensure their bushfire survival plan is up to date. 

“Wet weather may have reduced the immediate risk of fires but it only takes a few days of hot, dry and windy conditions for vegetation to dry out and the fire danger to return, which is why it’s so important to get ready now,” Ms Cooke said. 

“Grass fires move three times faster than bushfires and are our greatest threat across the State this summer,” she said. 

A local RFS brigade works to prevent the spread of a grassfire near Walgett as highway traffic waits.

Rural Fire Service (RFS) brigades across NSW will host more than 500 community awareness events this weekend as part of the annual Get Ready Weekend. 

In the western plains region these include events at Cobar, Nyngan, Gilgandra, Eumungerie, Gulargambone, Coonamble, Baradine, Bugaldie and Coonabarabran.

Check this map for event locations and details.

While the weather is goo, you can get started on protecting your home and family.

The RFS’s top four tips to get ready for the bushfire season are: 

• Discuss what to do if a bushfire threatens your home;  
• Prepare your home by cleaning leaves and twigs from gutters, keeping lawns and gardens well maintained, cutting back trees and shrubs overhanging buildings, cleaning up fallen vegetation, and having hoses long enough to reach around your house; 
• Know the bush fire alert levels; and  
• Keep all the bushfire information numbers, websites and the Fires Near Me app handy.