Rural Fire Service (RFS) Lower North Coast District will be ready for the high fire danger rating day for the Macleay Valley.
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The Kempsey Shire is forecast to enter a high fire danger rating today (Wednesday, September 20) following a moderate fire danger rating yesterday (Tuesday, September 19).
RFS Lower North Coast District Officer Jamie Laws said that the increased rating is a concern.
"Our crews are preparing," he said .
"They'll be checking their equipment and making sure everything is good to go."
![The fire danger increase comes just days after the Rural Fire Service's Get Ready weekend. Picture by Temagog RFS The fire danger increase comes just days after the Rural Fire Service's Get Ready weekend. Picture by Temagog RFS](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/179373098/28976359-29cb-4c7d-a7d6-17929b98e141.jpg/r0_191_2048_1342_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The increased fire danger rating comes after a total fire ban was declared for Greater Sydney and the Far South Coast on Tuesday, September 19.
Weather conditions in the Mid North Coast have been heating up with the Bureau of Meteorology forecasting temperatures in the high twenties and early thirties.
Despite the moderate fire danger rating yesterday, fire permits did face some restrictions.
"We restricted the burning... to small piles only just because with the conditions we [had] and the conditions that are forecast over the coming days," Mr Laws said.
"Landholders [were] still entitled to burn."
Permits are automatically suspended on high fire danger ratings.
But despite the rating yesterday, RFS crews were keeping busy in the local area.
"There are a number of fires burning to the south of us in the Port Macquarie-Hastings local government area," Mr Laws said.
"Some of those are putting up a bit of smoke."
According to the NSW RFS, 61 fires were burning across the state as of 9am, Tuesday September 19.
Over 500 firefighters and incident management team members have been working to contain these fires.
For the Mid North Coast region, it's been a particularly busy week with a new fire starting near Yarranbella on Tuesday.
No properties were under threat but a helicopter was scheduled to arrive from Armidale to assist with water bombing operations.
"Our guys have managed to jump on that one pretty quickly," Mr Laws said.
"It's about three hectares in size burning off Taylors Arm Road to the East."
Mr Laws said that his message for land owners ahead of the high fire danger day was to make sure they have a bushfire survival plan in place.
"Understand what your plan means for you and what the fire danger ratings mean."