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'It's Going to be a Long Summer': Firefighters Battle Gospers Mountain 'Mega Fire'

New South Wales firefighters battled part of the Gospers Mountain ‘megafire’ that was threatening properties in the Coricudgy area, on the outskirts of Wollemi National Park, on Tuesday, December 10.

The Rylestone brigade responded to an “urgent property protection” order after a wind change swept the fire close to homes on Tuesday night.

Firefighters from the Kandos, Lue and Clandulla brigades joined crews from Mudgee, Lawson, Moolarben, Cooyal and Bogee to reduce the threat of the fire.

“Crews spent the early hours of this morning conducting important back burning around homes while conditions were favorable,” the Rylestone brigade said in a Facebook post showing the fire at Coricudgy.

“Residents in the vicinity of this fire need to closely monitor conditions over the coming weeks as conditions are changing very quickly. It’s going to be a long summer.”

The Gospers Mountain bushfire had been burning for weeks and spread more than 320,000 hectares as of December 11. It has been dubbed a ‘mega fire’ due to the scale of the blaze.

At least 724 homes had been destroyed and 276 damaged during the November-December bushfires in New South Wales, according to a December 11 notification from state’s Rural Fire Service. Credit: NSW Rural Fire Service Rylstone Station via Storyful