NSW bushfires: Police suspect man started fire to protect cannabis plants
A man has been charged after allegedly lighting a fire to protect a cannabis plantation, then losing control of the flames allowing the inferno to develop into a major bushfire.
NSW
Don't miss out on the headlines from NSW. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A man has been charged after allegedly lighting a fire to protect a cannabis plantation on Thursday night, then losing control of the flames, allowing the inferno to develop into a major bushfire.
Residents of Ebor in the Northern Tablelands were told to “seek shelter” as the out-of-control fire ripped through more than 2000ha.
It was still burning at midnight last night.
Police yesterday charged a 51-year-old Ebor man with intentionally cause fire and be reckless to its spread.
A police statement said: “Police will allege in court that the man lit the fire as an attempt to back burn for the protection of a cannabis crop and perceived benefit from recovery work after the fire and made no attempt to control the blaze.”
It comes as firefighters turned their attention to another blaze that razed a home in the Hawkesbury yesterday and threatened the suburbs of Upper Macdonald, Webbs Creek and Colo Heights.
Firefighters warn that the persistent 85,000ha blaze — which began at Gospers Mountain in the Wollemi National Park — was spreading rapidly as hot and windy conditions returned.
Spot fires were also starting at a rapid rate ahead of the main blaze. Smoke from the fire made it all the way to the Central Coast and northern Sydney areas.
“These are the difficult conditions facing firefighters at the Gospers Mountain fire in the Hawkesbury,” the Rural Fire Service tweeted alongside footage showing the scale of the fire, with masses of smoke and flames rising into the sky.
Firefighters may be fatigued after days of battling ferocious blazes across NSW, but maintain they are “invested” in efforts to save lives and homes, ahead of yet more hot, dry conditions and severe fire danger this weekend.
Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons yesterday said while firefighters were fatigued they remain determined.
“There’s fatigue all right, the physical fatigue, but these men and women, they’re so emotionally and mentally invested in just trying to save and protect their communities,” Mr Fitzsimmons said.
The number of emergency warnings issued continued to rise throughout the day yesterday — with four in place at one stage, including at Guyra Road in Ebor, east of Armidale near Cathedral Rock National Park.
Four lives have been lost in fires in the past week and the RFS has confirmed that more than 250 homes have been destroyed.\
Almost 90 homes have been damaged, while some 480 outbuildings and 18 facilities have also been razed.
Meanwhile, the RFS believes their efforts have saved more than 2000 buildings.
By Friday afternoon there were 61 fires burning across the state, with more than half uncontained.
Large parts of the state remain under a total fire ban.