Firefighters from Newcastle and the Hunter received a welcome relief from catastrophic fire conditions late last week, with cooler weather and the easing of strong wind.
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The moderation of temperatures gave firefighters a reprieve from their hectic workload, and a chance to restock and bring still burning fires under control.
Many local fire crews have been dispatched over the past weeks to help with a multitude of major bushfires further north.
Firefighters have been dispatched for up to five days at a time on task forces battling the devastating blazes.
Local firefighters will continue to be sent north to relieve local crews and bolster firefighting resources until the fires are controlled and extinguished.
In one example of the work undertaken by firefighters during this period, a crew from Toronto were deployed to the fires burning at Old Bar. They arrived at 8am last Saturday and had their first break at 11 o'clock that night.
Their day involved racing to extinguish inferno after inferno, both at the main fire front and spot fires igniting up to 20 kilometres ahead. Firefighters successfully saved a large number of properties.
After a quick break and their first meal of the day close to midnight, the crew from Toronto resumed firefighting duties the next morning.
They fought the fires for four days, finally returning home on Wednesday.