A fire in Sydney’s northern beaches that firefighters had warned was threatening lives has been downgraded after conditions eased.
The NSW Rural Fire Service had earlier on Saturday warned people in the Cromer Heights area near Oxford Falls Road that their lives were at risk and that they should immediately seek shelter.
In an update late on Saturday afternoon, the RFS said the 80-hectare fire was now under a “watch and act” warning.
An RFS spokesperson confirmed to media the fire was a planned hazard-reduction burn that had spotted over containment lines.
Conditions across the fire ground had eased and water bombing aircraft were working to slow the spread.
People in the vicinity of Pinduro Place, Jersey Place, Maybrook Avenue, Kirrang Street, and Lady Penryhn Drive should be aware of ember attack, the RFS said.
An earlier warning, issued at 3pm, said the fire was affecting homes and properties in the area of Pinduro Place, Jersey Place, Maybrook Avenue, Kirrang Street, and Lady Penrhyn Drive.
People in those areas were told they should consider their lives at risk, and seek shelter in a house or other solid structure, actively monitor for embers or spot fires, and stay out of the way of the open path of the fire, the RFS advised.
Embers were being blown long distances ahead of the main fire front and starting spot fires, and people in the Narraweena and Cromer areas were advised to prepare for ember attacks.
People who had planned to come to the area or return to their homes there were told to stay away.
