Midnight scare as flames flare on Rocky Hill

THERE were dramatic scenes in Junee overnight as fire threatened to engulf Rocky Hill reserve, with the blaze breaking out in the dead of night following a week of brutal heat.

Firefighters were called to Gundagai Road about 2am Saturday, arriving to find flames spreading up the bone-dry hillside after six consecutive days above 40°C.

The temperature was still hovering around a stifling 32°C when the fire took hold.

The fire is believed to have started on the edge of Gundagai Road | Photo: Supplied

“I noticed it around 2am and called triple zero,” one woman told The Junee Bulletin.

“It looked like it had already been going for a little while. The whole sky had this orange glow. It was pretty scary not knowing how far it would go.”

The fire cast an eerie orange glow over the reserve | Photo: Supplied

While hot, gusty winds had lashed the region on Friday afternoon and evening, conditions eased just enough in the early hours for firefighters to stop the blaze from engulfing the entire hill.

“If the wind hadn’t dropped off when it did, we could’ve lost the whole hill,” one resident said.

No homes or infrastructure were threatened, and the fire was largely contained to a stretch of roadside and reserve land along Gundagai Road.

Daylight revealed a blackened scar across the reserve, with charred earth and scorched vegetation stretching along the southern slope.

Photo: © The Junee Bulletin

Photo: © The Junee Bulletin

Photo: © The Junee Bulletin

Photo: © The Junee Bulletin

Photo: © The Junee Bulletin

Today marks the seventh consecutive day of 40°C-plus temperatures for Junee, a brutal run of heat rarely seen in the Riverina.

Relief is expected this afternoon, with a cool change forecast to sweep through the region later today.