Emergency services were called to a fire at Camp Ridge, 500 metres west of the Jolly Nose lookout, around 8pm on October 31, Manning Hastings area manager Steve Atkins said. 

"That fire burnt up the ridge towards the lookout on the weekend," Mr Atkins said. "Further fires were then lit in multiple places around the initial fire to keep it going."

The message to arsonists from emergency services was clear, Mr Atkins said. "We know someone or multiple people were involved in lighting fires near Bonny Hills and we will continue to investigate exactly who is responsible."

The investigation will be led by the Rural Fire Service (RFS), Mr Atkins said.

Matt Inwood, media spokesman for the RFS, said on Wednesday the investigation had not commenced as a formal request had yet to be made by NPWS.

The revelation that arson is behind the fires comes as senior police from across the state meet for the annual Rural Crime Investigators Conference in Mudgee. 

Senior Constable Steve Cherry from the Mid North Coast Crime Management Unit confirmed Port Macquarie's Constable Daniel Duckworth was at the conference. 

The conference is expected to announce new technology designed to combat bushfire arson. Arson Trends Analysis System (ATAS) is a computer program that allows investigators to determine if a firebug might be at work in their communities. 

ATAS collects in one place fire-incident information from NSW Police, the Rural Fire Service, and Fire & Rescue NSW. ATAS users can see where and when fires are occurring, the types of fires (building, vehicle or bushfire), attending agencies and details of who reported each incident.

Most importantly for fire investigators, ATAS can analyse this information to determine where arsonists might be operating.

After user-testing trials of the system early this year, ATAS is now available to police statewide, and investigators will be trained in the use of the system during conference proceedings, a police spokesman said.

"This technology will be invaluable to our rural-crime investigation teams," conference convenor and NSW Police Western Region Commander, Assistant Commissioner Geoff McKechnie, said.

"If we know where arsonists are likely to strike, we can put strategies in place to prevent the senseless loss of land - and in many cases people's livelihoods - to deliberately-lit blazes," he said.

Constable Duckworth's findings from the conference, as well as the implications of ATAS for the Hastings area, will be reported in the Port News next week.