NSW bushfires: Colo Heights on emergency warning as Gospers Mountain blaze nears

If you haven’t got a plan, leave now. That’s the advice of the Rural Fire Service has the huge Gospers Mountain fire heads steadily south towards Sydney.

An emergency bushfire warning has been issued for the remote community of Colo Heights and residents not prepared have been told to leave now in the direction of Wilberforce.

RFS spokeswoman Cathie Moore said the Gospers Mountain bushfire was moving south toward the Putty Road community which has a population of about 350 people.

This photo of the Gospers Mountain fire, taken from a commercial flight into Sydney. Picture Rural Fire Service.

Ms Moore said RFS crews were doing strategic backburning overnight around the fire and warned that residents expect to see increased fire and smoke and fire trucks moving around throughout the evening

“We’ll have crews out during the night trying to get some containment on the fire,” Ms Moore said.

CFA member works on controlled back burns along Putty Road earlier this week near Colo Heights. . (Photo by Brett Hemmings/Getty Images)

Ms Moore said the activity of the fire depended on the weather – but had so far been reasonably slow moving.

“It took a bit of a run on Tuesday under the catastrophic fire conditions we experienced – but we are watching it closely ahead of predicted hot and windy periods in the days ahead.

Map showing large area of more than 70,000 hectares already burned out by the Gospers Mountain Fire.

The Gospers Mountain fire has been burning since October 26 and it’s feared it will reach the Central Coast.

Central Coast District RFS spokesman Stuart O’Keefe said “it’s more than likely going to run into the Central Coast area … just exactly when we don’t know.”

“The weather changes every day,” he said.

Residents around Colo Heights should expect to see more spoke and fire crews overnight as containment lines are put in. (Photo by Brett Hemmings/Getty Images).

A series of community meetings are scheduled for the weekend to prepare settlements in the potential path of the fire.

They are scheduled at Spencer at 10am, Kulnura at 12.30pm, Yarramalong at 2.30pm all on Saturday.

On Sunday more meetings will be e held at Wendooree Park at 12pm and Calga/Mt White at 2pm.

Meetings have already been held at St Albans and Wiseman’s Ferry.