Firefighters went into "protection mode" on Friday night as several properties were threatened by a bushfire that continues to burn off Nerriga Road, north of Braidwood.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Crews worked through the night to battle the blaze and bring it under control.
NSW RFS incident controller Chris Allen said the work carried out late on Friday afternoon and overnight has meant no homes are currently under threat.
There has been a report of one shed lost in the fire but no reports of any further property losses or injuries.
The current alert level is set to advice.
The NSW RFS currently has around 80 personnel on the fire ground, three medium helicopters completing bucketing runs and earthmoving machinery creating containment lines.
Mr Allen said the RFS were confident they could consolidate the edges of the fire today with minimum 30 metre containment lines.
Local crews are now being assisted by crews from the ACT and far south coast, and water bombing aircraft.
The blaze, off Nerriga Road north of Braidwood, is expected to burn for a number of days as inaccessible terrain hampers efforts to put the fire out. Mr Allen said it was likely smoke would be visible for five to six days.
Aviation support in the form of the VLAT and other water bombing helicopters were being used with retardant.
Mr Allen said the retardant runs on Friday evening had the desired effect of slowing down the fire front.
On Saturday morning, Mr Allen said there were still “pressure points” that firefighters are dealing with.
The hot conditions, with low humidity, and a wind change from south-westerly to easterly could create increased fire behaviour Mr Allen said.
“Our priority today is consolidating our edges,” he said.
“The intent is to hold it’s current footprint.”
The fire had burnt through 150 hectares as of Friday evening, but that had increased to 270 hectares as of Saturday morning. At 2pm on Saturday the fire was approximately 350 hectares but Mr Allen said the footprint of the fire had not changed since around midnight.
By Saturday afternoon NSW RFS Lake George zone district manager Tim Carroll said while the predicted wind change had occurred the wind had remained relatively weak and had not had a large impact on the fire.
Smoke from the fire is affecting the Canberra region, Goulburn and some parts of the south coast, including Nowra and Batemans Bay.
Residents across the region are being warned to expect dangerous and severe fire conditions on Saturday.
Canberra is forecast to reach 38 degrees on Saturday, while Braidwood is tipped to reach 36 degrees.
A total fire ban is place for a number of regions including the Queanbeyan-Palerang council area and Goulburn Mulwaree.
For residents in the area of the Braidwood fire, updates are being provided to the Bungendore IGA and the Tourist Information Centre at Braidwood.
Mr Carroll said the RFS were very thankful for the excellent support provided by NSW Police, the council, SES and National Park and Wildlife rangers.
He asked the public to continue to monitor conditions with the hot temperatures and if a member of the public sees a fire without a fire truck in attendance to report it to 000 immediately.
He said it was also a useful reminder to ensure you have a bushfire survival guide in place and to speak with family and neighbours about what to do in the event of a fire.