Residents and firefighters have faced an all-too-familiar scene in northern NSW as multiple blazes encircled one town, spewing spot fires into an urban zone amid "shocking" conditions.
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Tenterfield, just south of the Queensland border, was the epicentre of firefighting efforts on Tuesday after seven dangerous blazes flared up in the town's north, west and south.
The iconic town of 4000 became world famous after Peter Allen penned the hit song Tenterfield Saddler in 1970, a heart-wrenching ode to his grandfather.
Residents were badly impacted by the Black Summer bushfires of 2019/20.
Tenterfield mayor Bronwyn Petrie said the community was apprehensive about the looming summer given the devastation experienced in 2019.
"We're almost at the same record drought conditions that we were four years ago ... (and) there hasn't been as much hazard-reduction burning as would normally happen," she told ABC Radio.
"People were still rebuilding their livestock herds from the bushfires, the drought before that and the floods, so there's been less livestock to reduce the vegetable matter."
The NSW Rural Fire Service confirmed one home had been destroyed in the fires and at least two others had been damaged in the town and surrounds.
Further building assessments will be made when inspectors get access to the remaining fire grounds
NSW Rural Fire Service commissioner Rob Rogers said crews would still be working in the area despite all fires being at a lower threat level.
It will take some time to identify the extent of the damage to properties.
"(We saw) a lot of fire activity yesterday ... and we've got crews out this morning starting to look at properties, how many were lost and trying to make sure everybody's accounted for," he told Sky News.
"But it was a really shocking day for firefighters and residents, both sides of the border."
In the early hours of Wednesday, emergency services responded to a report a NSW Rural Fire Service truck had rolled on the New England Highway at Jennings, northwest of Tenterfield.
Four firefighters were on board and three were taken to hospital with minor injuries.
They were released shortly after and were being provided with support, an RFS spokesman told AAP.
Spot fires ignited in Tenterfield after embers were blown several kilometres east from the more than 4000ha Woodside fire.
Six kilometres southeast of the town, the uncontrolled Scrub Road blaze was burning through forested areas and affecting homes and properties.
At Wallangarra, fire jumped the Queensland border, forcing NSW residents in Jennings to shelter in place.
Another border town, Boggabilla, was spared destruction after firefighters gained the upper hand on a blaze that ignited on the town's fringes.
As conditions deteriorated overnight across Tenterfield fire grounds, the RFS requested help from southern crews.
An additional 30 RFS members flew up from Sydney to support local firefighters.
Fire danger ratings have been downgraded across the state, although three regions along the Queensland border are still subject to high threat levels.
Australian Associated Press
