00:02With temperatures well into the mid-30s and in some parts of Western Sydney, the high
00:0730s, the RFS have issued two total fire bans that will be in place until midnight tonight.
00:13Now those total fire bans come as a result of dry gusty winds, low humidity combined
00:20with a thunderstorm with little rain that could see dry lightning, spark fires across
00:25the region. Now the Bureau of Meteorology have issued two fire danger warnings. The first
00:31is for the Greater Sydney region including the Blue Mountains which is an extreme fire
00:37danger warning. The second is for the Hunter region, a high fire danger warning for the
00:42areas of the Hunter region including Cessnock, Lake Macquarie and Newcastle. Now the total
00:49fire bans have been put in place to reduce the risk of fires starting but also to reduce
00:55the fires from spreading because as of late in the north parts of New South Wales there
01:02have been fires burning for quite some while. The RFS Commissioner Trent Curtin spoke with
01:09the ABC a little earlier about what these fire bans involve. Let's take a quick listen
01:14to what he had to say. Really what it means is no fires in the landscape today. Nobody should
01:19be doing hot work so we shouldn't be having any solid fuel barbecues out in the open. No
01:25open flames in and around fuels because any fire in the landscape today with those winds
01:30and the high temperatures will get up and running very very quickly. Now those total fire bans
01:35will be in place until 11.59pm tonight and that means anyone caught starting a fire during
01:42this time could face some pretty hefty fines. The RFS are also encouraging people to start
01:48thinking about their bush fire plans. That includes cleaning up any debris around the house, keeping
01:56the lawn quite short and trimming any trees but also downloading the fires near me hazard
02:03app to keep an eye out for any fires near you.
