NSW and Queensland bushfires emergency: teen arsonists questioned, heatwave looms, NSW fires worst in 25 years

As heatwaves loom and three teens are arrested, NSW bushfires are already the worst in 25 years.

NSW Rural Fire Service crews burn a containment line around properties at Colo Heights, north west of Sydney. Picture: Dan Himbrechts/AAP

Three teenage boys have been arrested after a grassfire was lit in a southwest Sydney suburb.

The trio, two aged 15 and one aged 16, were detained on Sunday evening in the Harrington Park area.

Authorities had been alerted to a fire in the bush off The Northern Road at Harrington Park about 5.30pm by a passing motorist.

The fire was extinguished about 45 minutes later.

The teens were taken to Narellan Police Station for questioning.

READ MORE: Jones attacks Folau for saying fires are God’s punishment | Hail, flames, hit state of fire and ice | Green revel in nation’s agony | Why this fire season is so different |

NSW: 6000km fire front

This NSW bushfire season has already burnt through more land than any other in the past 25 years, the Rural Fire Service says, as residents are warned to heed a “wake-up call” for difficult months ahead.

Six lives and 530 homes have been lost since the season hit some weeks ago and the state faces at least two “tough days” this week, with temperatures likely to rise into the 40s and little to no rainfall.

More than 420 homes have been destroyed in the past fortnight alone.

A total of 18 houses have been confirmed burned to the ground in Bobin, north west of Taree. Picture: Peter Lorimer.

Some 1.6 million hectares of land have been lost — more land loss than the entire 1993/1994 season, RFS Deputy Commissioner Rob Rogers said. Firefighters are battling a firefront of some 6000km, the equivalent distance of a return Sydney-Perth trip, Mr Rogers said on Monday.

“Even though it’s not a catastrophic danger (this week) it’s still going to be bad fire days,” Mr Rogers told reporters in Sydney.

“Tuesday and Thursday are going to be tough days.”

He urged anyone who had not yet been affected by bushfires to “please use this as a wake-up call” and prepare.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the past week was a reminder “the summer isn’t going to be pleasant in terms of the bushfire risk”.

“I ask everyone to maintain their vigilance,” she said.

Emergency Services Minister David Elliott said the biggest risk in the coming days would be firefighters becoming fatigued.

A DC10 air tanker had been drafted in from North America and would help drop up to 38,000 litres of water and retardant on blazes. It brings the number of air tankers operating this season to five, up from three.

Efforts will be bolstered by help from New Zealand firefighters.

As of Sunday night there were 54 fires across the state, 23 uncontained.

A persistent 122,000-hectare fire at Gospers Mountain in the Hawkesbury region remains at “watch and act” level.

QLD: Campers sent packing

Exhausted firefighters are using Monday’s milder conditions to try to gain the upper hand on five major blazes among 75 fires burning across Queensland.

Wild storms including strong winds — and hail — created challenging conditions for crews on Sunday but there was no loss of property overnight.

On Moreton Island campers including some schoolies have been evacuated from isolated northern camp grounds after a lightning strike started a fire on Saturday.

Campers were moved by boat, with some opting to pitch their tents at the Tangalooma resort, which is acting as a fire refuge.

Fire at Moreton Island has forced the evacuation of campers. Picture: Instagram/toppa_03 (Angela Topatig)

The blaze is currently burning towards the township of Bulwer, with a leave now warning in place there as crews work to steer the fire around the community. Another major fires is the Pechey blaze, north of Toowoomba, which is currently burning towards the town of Esk where the local hospital has been evacuated. Smoke and ash are expected to affect the town on Monday but fire fighters say it’ll be some days before flames might encroach on the community.

“The one at Peachey, the Ravensbourne, Crows Nest area and places west of Esk that’s a very large fire. It did some really hard runs yesterday and burnt out a significant amount of country,” Wayne Waltisbuhl from Queensland Fire and Emergency Services has told the ABC.

“It’s burning in some really rugged country but eventually it will come down onto some grazing land.” Crews are focused on burning out country in front of that fire to reduce the threat.

Authorities are also watching a cluster of difficult blazes in the Border Ranges region, from Cunninghams Gap and Spicers Gap south to Mount Barney and Mount Lindsay.

Some of those fires have been burning for weeks, and every time strong winds arrive, as they did on the weekend, they are pushed uphill and into steep terrain that crews can’t access.

The other major fires at Cobraball west of Yeppoon and at Woodgate, south of Bundaberg, are now mostly contained after a weekend of hard work by fire crews. Mr Waltisbuhl says fire fighters are exhausted and the national battle for personnel is now being keenly felt.

“Across Australia it’s getting really tough to move firefighters around because all the states are now in their fire seasons,” he said.

“We’re really at a bit of a pinch point at the moment.” He said about 120 interstate firefighters were still helping on fire grounds in Queensland.