MORE than 160 hectares has burned in a bushfire in Rawdon Creek Nature Reserve.
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The fire is now under control.
The fire, which was being controlled by Rural Fire Brigade units and managed by National Parks and Wildlife Service, burned in bushland between Junction Road, Rawdon Island and Wharf Road, Telegraph Point.
The fire reached Telegraph Point Road by Sunday afternoon (September 27).
A 10 hectare fire was also being controlled off Lorne Road at Comboyne over the weekend.
The Mid North Coast region has been declared a very high fire danger area this weekend and it marks the first time this fire season where all fire permits are suspended.
The official start of the bushfire danger period began on September 1.
A small bushfire was controlled in hot and windy conditions in the Camden Haven on Friday (September 25). The fire at Brotherglen Drive was managed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS).
Hazard reduction burns are also taking place at Pembrooke and Cooperabung.
District manager Superintendent Kam Baker said last month that an early fire season is not unusual, but increased grass growth across Port Macquarie-Hastings due to recent rain could prove problematic.
At the end of the devastating 2019 bushfires, more than 150 homes were destroyed, nine facilities and 303 outbuildings were destroyed. A further 68 homes, 16 facilities and 139 outbuildings were damaged.
The region tragically lost two lives.
There were 26 emergency warnings issued to communities across the Mid North Coast from November 8 to November 14.
Fifty-eight fires burned between July and December, consuming a total of 420,000 hectares of bushland. This represents more than 30 per cent of the combined Mid Coast and Port Macquarie-Hastings local government areas.
"Last season was unprecedented, in terms of area burnt, lives lost and homes destroyed," Supt Baker said.
"We cannot be complacent coming into this season thinking that we won't see fire activity again. Bush and grass fires can strike at any time and it is vitally important to be prepared."
This means doing simple things like cleaning your gutters, removing combustibles from your yard, ensuring hoses can reach all corners of your property and completing or updating your bush fire survival plan, so you and your family know what you will do in the event of a bush fire.
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