Far South Coast firefighters have warned campers to completely extinguish camp fires, particularly during hot and windy weather, after a peaceful weekend in the bush came close to being a "catastrophe".
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Narooma RFS Captain Sophie Taylor and community officer Zhoe Hart were enjoying a relaxing holiday at Yadboro Flat Campground on Saturday, November 29 - their last chance before summer arrived.
Ms Hart smelled burning plastic about midday, as wind picked up and the temperature was 37 degrees Celsius at the grounds in the Yadboro State Forest, west of Pigeon House Didthul Mountain.
At a campsite nearby, wind blew a camp chair into a camp fire, believed to have been extinguished the night before.
The heat ignited the chair and flames quickly spread to the grass.
Ms Hart and Captain Taylor noticed the fire, worked quickly to collect buckets of water from a creek nearby and from campers, and doused the blaze.
They stopped the fire 1.5 metres away from the visitors' camp trailer, gas bottle and jerry can, Ms Hart said.
"On return, the campers were grateful and couldn't believe how easily this had happened," Ms Hart said.
Ms Hart said the incident could have been "catastrophic" if not for their quick actions.
"With this hot weather and gusting winds, fires can get out of control fast," Ms Hart said.
Ms Hart stressed the importance of ensuring camp fires were completely extinguished before leaving the campsite.
Having a water bucket or water supply within reach was also useful, and someone should be around burning campfires at all times.
If you see anything suspicious, or if you are concerned about smoke/fire or someone is burning when there is TOBAN (Total Fire Ban) in place, call 000 immediately.
The fire danger rating is very high on the Far South Coast on Saturday and Sunday, November 28-29.
