Man arrested over NSW Central Coast fire

(AAP) Firefighters have been pushed to the limit as more than 40 fires raged throughout NSW in difficult hot, dry and windy conditions.


Police said they were questioning a man after he was arrested for allegedly lighting
fires which threatened dozens of homes on the NSW Central Coast.
Rural Fire Service (RFS) crews were most concerned about a series of fires near
Peats Ridge as several fires moved rapidly through Brisbane Water National Park.
About 250 firefighters battled the blaze with five aircraft and more than 20 fire
tankers.
AN RFS spokeswoman said several fires had moved rapidly through the national park.
"That is the fire of most concern," she said.
"The fact that it is so dry, it is so hot and the humidity is so low means that it
is moving very quickly, they were crowning through the treetops."
She said the homes at greatest risk were on Nardoo and Wiseman's Ferry Road at Peats
Ridge.
"Homes are still under threat," the spokeswoman told AAP.
"The homes are under ember attack and residents in that area are asked to take
direction from firefighters and to be aware of any embers that land on their
property from the fire."
She said the RFS had spent "a lot of resources on this fire".
Fire crews were working to contain the edges of the fire on Saturday night, but
hotter drier weather conditions are forecast for Sunday.
Police arrested a 31-year-old man on the Pacific Highway on the Central Coast on
Saturday afternoon before taking him to Gosford Police Station for questioning.
"A man has been arrested by police following an alleged arson-related bushfire at
Peats Ridge (Saturday) afternoon," a NSW Police statement said.
Western Sydney and western NSW sweltered in 40-plus temperatures, with the mercury
at Penrith in the city's west tipping 43 degrees and a sweltering 47 degrees at
Deniliquin in southwest NSW and 47 at Pooncarie western NSW.
Fire fighting aircraft have been sent to a new fire that has broken out at Wyndham,
northwest of the Bega fire in the southeast of the state.
Authorities are carefully monitoring fires at Muswellbrook, Tumut, the Bega Valley,
Wybong in the Hunter Valley and Wollemi National Park in the Singleton area.
A bushfire burning out of control near Muswellbrook in the NSW Hunter region has
burnt out more than 300 hectares of bushland.
Fire investigators are examining the scene at Wollemi National Park in the Singleton
area to determine the cause of the fires which have burnt more than 1,000 hectares
of countryside since Friday night.
The fires have joined as one and moved rapidly under the hot conditions.
The fire is burning out of control approximately 25km northwest of Putty and 44km
south of Denman in the Hunter Valley but no property is under threat.
"It's been a difficult day for firefighters, but they're throwing everything at it,"
the RFS spokesman said.
"We are still monitoring a fire very closely that's burning in Putty Rd.
"At this stage it's too dangerous to have crews on the ground at that fire, so we
are monitoring it from the air and we are waterbombing that fire to reduce any
hotspots where it's practical."
She said other fires across the state "may impact on homes" if conditions deteriorate.
In the south of the state a fire has burnt out more than 2,000 hectares of the
Budawang National Park.
A total fire ban is in place in Sydney and most of NSW over the weekend.
Saturday's hot conditions will continue on Sunday with a late southerly change
expected on Sunday afternoon.