Firefighters working through the weekend as blaze destroys 22 homes and damages 15

Crews rush to contain northern NSW bushfires before hot spell arrives

Fire crews battling raging bushfires in northern New South Wales were working on Saturday to get the blazes contained before the forecast hot weather.

The NSW Rural Fire Service said 22 homes had been destroyed so far, 15 houses damaged.

It also said 73 outbuildings had been destroyed and 21 outbuildings damaged.

The major fire grounds were at Tabulam, nearby Wallangarra and Tingha Plateau, all in the northern part of NSW.

Six homes destroyed as bushfires rage in northern NSW Read more

Crews spent Friday night wrestling control over the three main fire-fronts amid cooler weather.

There were 20 bush and grass fires still burning across NSW on Saturday afternoon.

Firefighting crews from Queensland had been brought in to assist and waterbombing aircraft were working tirelessly to keep the fires at bay.

Some properties remained under threat.

Map Map

Temperatures on Saturday were expected to range from the mid-20s in coastal areas to the mid-30s inland but any reprieve could be short-lived as hotter weather was expected to sweep up through the interior of the continent on Monday and Tuesday.

A woman will face court this month, accused of lighting one of the bushfires. The 40-year-old was charged on Wednesday night for allegedly lighting rubbish on fire in a steel drum in her backyard near Tabulam on Tuesday morning.

The blaze was allegedly left unattended in the hot weather and amid a total fire ban.

It quickly spread to bushland, incinerated almost 3,000 hectares and forced the evacuation of the Jubullum Aboriginal area before destroying five houses.

The woman was charged with intentionally causing fire and being reckless to its spread during a total fire ban, and ordered to appear in Casino local court on 27 February.