http://www.woronorafire.org.au/

Woronora Bush Fire Brigade, Menai Road, Woronora (2026)

04/05/2026

Congratulations to our newest members Sam, Chris and Max who successfully passed their fire fighter assessments on Sunday, alongside newly minted firefighters from Grays Point RFS.

A great reflection of their commitment to training. Welcome to the team.

04/05/2026

Unfortunately the weather was not on our side on Saturday when we tried to implement the Akuna Hazard Reduction burn.

After all the planning, burn area preparation and crew assembling a localised downpour around midday forced us to pause with fuels becoming too wet.

This demonstrates how difficult it can be to find windows where its not too dry and not too wet in which to conduct a burn.

This is particularly the case for Akuna, with it’s steep southerly aspect and variation between open forest, creek lines and swamps making the goldilocks scenario particularly illusive.

With the area not having burned since the 70’s we will continue to monitor conditions in the hope of implementing this important burn soon.

30/04/2026

HAZARD REDUCTION NOTIFICATION

This Saturday 2nd May a hazard reduction burn will be conducted opposite Deepwater Estate, below the Bangor Bypass.

You may notice smoke in the area including settling in the valley and along the Bangor Bypass dependent on wind directions.

Please keep windows closed where necessary, drive to conditions, and follow health advice if sensitive to smoke.

17/04/2026

With so many hazard reduction burns occurring across the area, have you ever wondered how we decide where and when to burn?

29/01/2026

Earlier this week two of our arduous qualified firefighters, Andy and Brendan were deployed Victoria to assist with ongoing firefighting efforts.

The following is a summary of their deployment.

Day 1
We flew into Albury before transferring by bus for a two-hour drive to base camp at Corryong, located around 20 minutes from the Walwa River Road Fire. On arrival, we settled into our tents, which were set up under a large white marquee that served as our accommodation hub.

Day 2
We were up at 0600 for breakfast, followed by the allocation of CAT 9 tankers and full vehicle checks. After departing base camp, we attended the morning briefing and were then deployed to the Prices Hill Sector, working along the north-eastern containment line.

The terrain was some of the steepest and dustiest I’ve ever driven on — photos genuinely don’t do it justice. Most tracks were covered in deep bull dust, in places up to 40 cm deep, as fine as talcum powder. It flowed almost like water when driven through and, unsurprisingly, got absolutely everywhere.

The day consisted largely of 4x4 patrolling — watching, waiting, and monitoring fire behaviour as it built, burned, and settled within the containment area. We stopped at an active fire within the line to observe how it was consuming ground fuels. Conditions were challenging, with temperatures in the mid-30s and moderate north-westerly winds.

Day 3
Another early start, with a 0900 briefing at the Prices Hill Sector staging area. Forecast conditions were severe — high 30s to low 40s with a strong westerly wind expected later in the day. We continued patrolling the containment line before moving to a high vantage point for fire behaviour observations.

Later, we were tasked to investigate an area showing heavy smoke with active fire. Helicopters conducted multiple water-bombing runs before we returned to our observation point. As the wind shifted from north-north-west to west and strengthened to around 36 km/h, conditions rapidly deteriorated — hot, dry air with humidity dropping to 13%. Fire activity increased noticeably.

We were redeployed to the north-eastern edge to defend unburnt ground outside the containment line, with a focus on ember attack and rapid suppression of any spot fires. A large smouldering tree fell approximately 700 metres downslope and around 100 metres into the burn area. With no aerial support immediately available, four CAT 9s were dispatched to investigate and suppress the fire.

Five crew members hiked into the fireground and commenced dry firefighting operations. Approximately 150 metres of 25 mm hose line was run in, allowing us to cool remaining hotspots. Brendan successfully connected three CAT 9s in a relay pump setup to supply water. In total, we used around 2.5 CAT 9 water loads to fully extinguish the spot fire. This marked the final task of the shift before returning to base camp.

Day 4
Conditions were similar to the previous day. We spent the shift patrolling the entire Prices Hill Sector. In the afternoon, we were staged closer to a fire that had developed significant heat. Over several hours, two helicopters worked the area and successfully knocked the fire down.

25/01/2026

Last week one of our arduous firefighters was deployed to Victoria alongside Loftus Volunteer Bushfire Brigade to assist with the destructive fires continuing to burn across the state. He provided a summary of the deployment:

I was part of an 18-person arduous, five-day deployment in Victoria, working the Walwa fire along the NSW–Victoria border.

On paper, the numbers were confronting:

11 homes lost. 61 structures gone. 43 heritage-listed places and 28 heritage sites destroyed. Over 104,580 hectares burnt.

On the ground, it was much more personal. It was the remains of someone’s home. A shed where generations worked. A landscape people grew up in that now looked unfamiliar.

Our job was to relieve exhausted local crews overnight, giving them a chance to rest while we took over. We worked 8 pm to 8 am night shifts, holding containment lines, chasing hotspots that refused to die, and lighting strategic backburns to stop the fire from making another run.

Night shift played tricks on your body. I was lucky enough to sleep almost anywhere during the day, but my stomach hadn’t figured it out yet — finishing a 12-hour shift, eating “breakfast,” going straight to bed, then waking up for dinner felt wrong in every possible way.

We were spared tent city and were bunked in the local army barracks, which I was grateful for. As much as I love camping, trying to sleep in a tent during the day, surrounded by trucks, people and 35-degree heat, would have tested even the keenest outdoors person.

One night, we were up in the Victorian High Country, working among some truly majestic Mountain Ash trees. I had never had a favourite tree before, but I did then. Standing beneath them in the dark, head torch on, they felt almost alien — massive, ancient, and humbling. One of the photos had a firefighter in the bottom left for scale, just to show how small we really were out there.

Five days away from home. Long nights. Very little sleep.

But I was proud to stand alongside crews who kept turning up — for each other, and for communities that had lost so much.

10/01/2026

Heavy smoke has settled in the valley and surrounds, blown up from fires in Victoria and southern NSW.

There are no fires currently reported in the area.

Based on the weather forecast we’d expect the smoke to linger for a few hours this morning. Hopefully rain expected later today will help shift it off.

The best way to rain informed of any nearby fire activity is via the Hazards Near Me app.

09/01/2026

TOTAL FIRE BAN SATURDAY 10th JANUARY

A total fire ban has been declared for the Sydney area for Saturday 10th January with extreme fire danger forecast.

Ensure you are ready to act should a fire start.

07/01/2026

By now most residents will be aware of the hearwave set to impact Victoria and NSW through to the weekend.

So what does this mean for bush fire risk locally?

Due to a lack of significant rainfall we are likely to see elevated fire danger ratings reaching extreme levels on Saturday. With exact ratings to be confirmed in coming days.

Thankfully there are no significant fires in nearby districts. However the prolonged period of warm weather will raise the potential that fires can start and take hold locally throughout the Thursday and Friday. If not controlled ahead of worsening conditions they will pose a risk come Saturday.

Looking further afield there are fires that reached emergency level today in Victoria. With the possibility that further will arise in southern NSW as the peak temperature and wind speeds move up into the state. Which could start to spread resources.

All of this means that it is worth preparing now by ensuring you and your family have a bush fire survival plan, covering how you will ensure you are prepared and what you will do in the case of a fire.

It’s also a good opportunity to ensure you have tools such as the Hazards Near Me app setup to ensure you receive timely alerts.

The Hazards Near Me app lets you set up watch zones for areas you live in or travel to. Tap on the watch zone icon and then on the +ADD icon. This will allow you to set up watch zones anywhere between a 5-50km radius and receive alerts and warnings for those areas.

Don't forget about the Emergency Plus, BOM weather and Live Traffic apps. These are great for sharing GPS locations, monitoring weather and keeping up with road closures, detours and accidents.

You can also keep up to date with official information via NSW Rural Fire Service.

05/01/2026

This evening we were called to assist with a medical evacuation in Oatley where a person had fallen on the river edge.

Thankfully the patient was transfered safely to waiting ambulances and on to hospital.

22/12/2025

A special thank you to the team at The Boatshed Woronora for making us welcome and for keeping our crews (and Santa) caffeinated on the river on Saturday.

We appreciate the support.

Woronora Bush Fire Brigade

04/05/2026

04/05/2026

30/04/2026

17/04/2026

29/01/2026

25/01/2026

10/01/2026

09/01/2026

07/01/2026

05/01/2026

22/12/2025

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