MORE than 100 bushfires are continuing to ravage farmland and threaten homes in NSW, as the state mourns the death of a ranger in a firefighting helicopter crash.
Premier Kristina Keneally toured fire-affected areas yesterday to thank firefighters for their "extraordinary work" and announced special assistance loans for farmers whose property has been burnt."We often do say they are the unsung heroes of the community. Well, today the government is here to sing their praises," she told reporters.
"Messages of support and encouragement is perhaps all the more important today as we still come to grips with the loss of one of our own."
Aaron Harber, a 41-year-old NSW Parks and Wildlife Service ranger, was killed on Wednesday when a helicopter crashed on private property near Dorrigo, on NSW's mid-north coast.
The pilot, who worked as a contractor for the Rural Fire Service, was taken to Coffs Harbour Base Hospital with chest, head and back injuries.
He was now in a stable condition, a North Coast Area Health Service spokesman said.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has begun investigating the crash and will speak to witnesses and the aircraft operator over the coming days.
As firefighters and wildlife workers mourn their colleague, some 2000 personnel continue to battle more than 100 fires, mostly in northwest NSW.
Queensland firefighters are being sent to help fight fires in the northern part of the state.
Most of the fires started on Tuesday when a thunderstorm passed through the area.
Agricultural Disaster Relief Arrangement loans of up to $130,000 - which are interest-free for two years - will be available to people in Vittoria and Pinnacle Swamp, near Bathurst, in central NSW.
Only one home, a cottage in Cootamundra, has been destroyed.
But more than 1000ha of pasture, four farm sheds, fencing and stock had been lost by yesterday afternoon, a spokesman for NSW Emergency Services Minister Steve Whan said.
Causing the most concern is a scrub and grass blaze eight kilometres west of Bundarra, near Armidale, which is burning only two hours away from properties around McCoskers Road, Towarra Road, Wearnes Road, Bundarra Road, Old Bundarra Road and Honey Hills.
The RFS yesterday morning briefly issued an emergency warning for residents in the area, but dropped it to a "watch and act" alert as firefighters soon brought the fire under control.
However, the RFS said properties could come under threat with 55km/h winds predicted for late yesterday and temperatures on the fireground set to reach 36C.
Locals are now being told to enact their bushfire survival plans.
"Watch and act" alerts were also issued for residents of Cudgen on the far north coast, and northeast of Timor in the Hunter Valley, where major fires were also burning out of control, the RFS said.
Conditions were expected to ease today, aiding the firefighting effort going into the weekend, an RFS spokesman said.
"We are expecting temperatures in the low to mid 30s for much of northern NSW where most of the fires are," he said.
"So we will have a few days of slight reprieve."
