Firefighters are preparing for an increased risk of bushfires in the coming months as relatively wet consecutive summers in the Hunter region set the stage for dry conditions with higher-than-usual fuel loads.
Three years of La Nina in NSW has meant little bushfire activity in the Hunter since 2019, but the Bureau of Meteorology says El Nino conditions could be on the way - modelling has predicted a 70 per cent chance of it taking hold this year.
Lower Hunter Rural Fire Service district manager Superintendent Martin Siemsen told the Newcastle Herald the predicted conditions would raise the chances of bushfires in the region this summer.
Superintendent Siemsen said his crews would be particularly watching the areas around Dungog, Cessnock and Port Stephens as the warmer weather approached.
"We're going to have a build-up of fuel - that's a reality," he said.
"We're going to have a risk of fire this year, just purely because we're out of La Nina and into a dry period and potentially into an El Nino event.
"So we are going to see an increase in fire activity that we haven't seen since the previous fire season in 2019/20."
Superintendent Siemsen said his crews had been continually training during the quieter period.
He said many people in rural bushfire-prone areas were prepared through the course of maintaining their property - but it was important to remember jobs like slashing boundary lines and making sure their own firefighting gear was "ready and raring to go".
In suburban areas, maintaining gardens and removing combustible items were important preventative measures.
Superintendent Siemsen said it was ideal for everyone in at-risk areas to have a bushfire safety plan, but at the very least members of the household should have a conversation regarding what to do in case of a fire emergency.
The annual bushfire danger period runs from October to the end of March.
