UPDATE: Intense thunderstorms rocked the Hunter Wetlands early Saturday morning, igniting multiple fires in the region. Residents were jolted awake by lightning strikes, with at least one fire already consuming approximately 73 hectares of mangrove by evening.
As of Saturday evening, the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) confirmed that a fire believed to have started from lightning poses no immediate threat to property. However, authorities are urging residents to remain vigilant as conditions evolve. Firefighting aircraft have been deployed to combat the flames in the wetlands’ inaccessible areas, with smoke expected to drift across the city’s western suburbs.
Local resident Kristy Newman, who lives on Callan Avenue in Maryland, witnessed the dramatic lightning strike. “I said to my husband that I swear that just hit something,” she recounted. “And then all of a sudden we’ve got flames and smoke. This is the biggest one we have seen.” Another neighbor, Leanne Eljuga, described the storm as an intense start to the weekend: “There was lightning crashing all around us.”
The Bureau of Meteorology reported severe weather across the state, including hail at Shellharbour and wind gusts reaching 125 kilometers per hour in Gunnedah. Over the past 24 hours, more than 120,000 lightning strikes were recorded across New South Wales, with clusters affecting the Hunter area.
In a related incident, firefighters in Lake Macquarie battled a bushfire near the Windale Bowling Club on Saturday afternoon. The RFS reported that local firefighters contained the blaze by 5 PM after responding to calls around Mayfield and Mayfield West, which turned out to be false alarms likely caused by smoke from the wetlands fire.
As the situation develops, residents are advised to stay updated on the latest information from the RFS and local authorities. Fire crews continue to monitor conditions closely to ensure the fire remains contained within the wetlands.
Stay tuned for further updates as this urgent situation unfolds.
