Storm activity on the weekend in the Manning Valley caused 4000 lightning ground strikes and tens of thousands cloud to cloud strikes, according to a Weatherzone spokesperson.
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The photo accompanying this story was taken by local amateur photographer Michael Brown on Saturday night.
“I have been interested in photography for over 20 years but has become a more serious hobby/pastime in the last 10 years,” Michael said.
“I am in no way professional; the images I take are for the enjoyment of myself and others who are happy to look.”
The Saturday storm saw three new fires start due to lightning at Belbora, Moorland and Firefly, however all three fires were spotted by a reconnaissance aircraft and ground crews were able to quickly put the fires out.
Storm activity on Sunday February 5 caused 25 new fires, some of which continued to burn through the catastrophic fire conditions of the weekend following.
To date three fires remain burning in the Valley with two being patrolled and one contained – two of those being at Cells Road, and the Mt Pleasant fire at Wherrol Flat which has covered 140-150 hectares.
Seventy firefighters are still out in the field in the Manning and Gloucester districts, with four aircraft assisting. The multi-agency Incident Management Team is still in place.
The recent rain makes it difficult for firefighting as the tracks become slippery and machinery can’t move in, necessitating ground crews walking in to fire sites.
Scott Keelan of the Rural Fire Service MidCoast LGA Taree office said they have had a delayed fire season, but it is “cramming it all in now”.
“We haven’t scaled down since the beginning of January,” Scott said and cited the heat, the north-west winds, and electrical storms as the reasons.
Julia Driscoll
Julia Driscoll has worked as a journalist for the Wingham Chronicle and Manning River Times for seven years. She values the deep connection with community that being a rural and regional journalist brings. Career highlights have involved environmental stories - bringing the plight of the little known endangered Manning River helmeted turtle to the attention of the public, resulting in wide-spread knowledge in the community and conservation action; and breaking the news of the Manning River ceasing to run for the first time in recorded history.
Julia Driscoll has worked as a journalist for the Wingham Chronicle and Manning River Times for seven years. She values the deep connection with community that being a rural and regional journalist brings. Career highlights have involved environmental stories - bringing the plight of the little known endangered Manning River helmeted turtle to the attention of the public, resulting in wide-spread knowledge in the community and conservation action; and breaking the news of the Manning River ceasing to run for the first time in recorded history.
