Clarence bushfire under control

 

A THREATENING fire which destroyed 260 hectares of bushland west of Grafton has been contained by firefighters.

Firefighters said the blaze, which began on Wednesday afternoon in the Lillydale area, came within three metres of one house and threatened several other houses.

A Rural Fire Service spokesman said a concerted effort from 30 ground-level firefighters using 11 appliances and two airborne waterbombing aircraft had been effective in creating control lines around the fire.

He said favourable winds from the south-east had helped the situation by pushing fires back on to previously burnt parcels of land but aerial monitoring of the hilly bushland continued yesterday as did mopping up efforts on the ground.

The spokesman said the initial cause of the Purgatory Creek Road blaze was unclear at this stage but investigations were ongoing.

“This is a timely reminder for residents to prepare their homes for summer and draw up an action plan,” said the spokesman.

The spokesman said there were no other significant bushfires burning in the Clarence Valley yesterday afternoon.

'A timely reminder for residents to prepare ... homes for summer.'