Hunter Rural Fire Service crews are conducting hazard reduction burns around the clock in an effort to reduce the region's fuel load ahead of summer.
Eighteen burns have been done in the past month with more planned at Heatherbrae and Wollombi this week.
Unlike other areas in the state where crews are struggling to meet hazard reduction targets, Hunter crews are tracking well.
"We actually get a very small window of burning, which we try and capitalise on as much as we can," RFS Lower Hunter District Inspector Cameron Gray said.
"We've had a really good run in the last month where we have been able to do some big burns both in terms of size and complexity."
"As we approach the warmer months we start to move our burns later into the evening. It's a dynamic sort of response to try and ensure we're getting the best bang for buck in terms of hazard reduction, we're also doing it in a safe manner," Inspector Gray said.
The Hunter's fire season got off to an early start on September 3 when RFS volunteers worked with Fire and Rescue NSW to battle a fire that burned through about 200 hectares of scrub at Tomago.
With the bush rapidly drying out after a wet winter, it is essential that as much potential fuel is removed from the system as quickly as possible.
In addition to prescribed burns, the RFS is also working closely with private landholders to reduce fuel loads.
"They will sometimes contact us and say 'I want to do a 200 hectare burn but I'm not comfortable doing it myself.' There's a process where we can assist them do those burns," Inspector Gray said.
"Fire management is a shared responsibility across all landholders. The agencies will always respond but we want to work with our landholder partners to ensure effective fire management across the landscape."
Large parts of Australia have been warned to prepare for worse-than-usual bushfire conditions for the coming months.
The forecast, released by the National Fire and Emergency Services Council last week, followed the hottest August on record across Australia.
AFAC chief executive Rob Webb said climate change had lengthened the bushfire season in a number of regions but spring was the typical peak for northern areas.
"There's no doubt through the changing climate, our fire seasons are getting longer but the typical peak of the fire season in northern Australia is this time of year, that August and into-September period, and it works its way south into the summer months," he told AAP.
"But the key thing is, a normal season still means bushfires in Australia and whether it be spring or into the summer months, it's an important time for people to be prepared."
The council found an increased chance of above-average spring rainfall in NSW, Queensland, eastern Tasmania and far-southeast SA.
A number of heat records have fallen in recent weeks, including Australia's hottest winter temperature being set at Yampi Sound, northeast of Broome in WA, on August 26.
The 41.6C high eclipsed a 41.2C record also set in WA in August 2020.
