DESPITE being firmly in the heart of the ‘catastrophic’ zone, Orange was fortunate to avoid the bushfires which devastated other parts of the Central West in the last few days.

The closest outbreaks to Orange were Friday’s blaze at Georges Plains and a fire near Cumnock on Sunday afternoon.

Friday’s fire, which occurred about 10 kilometres south of Bathurst, burned about 60 hectares of grassland near Trunkey Road and came within metres of homes before being brought under control by NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) crews at about 3.30pm.

Sunday’s fire was at Avondale Road north of Cumnock. At the time of publishing it was being fought by 21 trucks and two aircraft and had burned 50 hectares of land.

Late on Sunday no homes were under threat.

With Sunday’s temperatures ranging in the mid- to high-30s and the forecast for strong winds proving true the RFS was on high alert for a day RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said presented the “worst possible fire conditions”.

That warning proved tragically true in one segment of central NSW.

Late on Sunday afternoon RFS crews were preparing to defend the tiny town of Cassilis, approximately 80 kilometres north of Mudgee, from a fire front driven by increasing winds.

The RFS had earlier directed people from outlying areas to head for shelter in Cassilis, a town of about 300 people, but with the fire approaching, the RFS deployed its crews to defend the town.

Shortly after 3pm the fire was burning towards homes and at 3.20pm the RFS said the blaze was moving towards Cassilis and had breached containment lines.

“People in the area of Uarby, Turill and Cassillis should seek shelter as the fire front approaches. It is too late to leave,” an RFS emergency warning said.

Residents in Uarbry and Turill, both located north of Mudgee, were told to leave their homes about 12pm on Sunday.

The Golden Highway was closed due to smoke and was expected to remain closed for the rest of the day.

Meanwhile, a fire near Narromine was extinguished on Sunday afternoon.

RFS media liaison officer Matt Horwood said the cause of the fire was unknown but fortunately it didn’t cause any damage to the town. 

“They’re still out there with a grader and bulk water units from council but it looks like they’ve got a good handle on it,” he said on Sunday.