Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott is on the fire ground at Lemon Tree Passage Road, where he is working as a volunteer with the Davidson Brigade to fight the fires burning at Salt Ash.
More than 180 firefighters were on the ground Friday working to bring the blaze under control.
The Davidson volunteer brigade was called up to Port Stephens at around 3.30pm Thursday.
RFS Inspector Rolf Poole was on the fire ground and said crews were battling challenging, windy conditions to bring the fire to heel.
The fire was pushed toward Lemon Tree Passage and Rookes Road in the early morning under dry and windy conditions, prompting an escalated fire danger warning around 6.30am.
Crews have since been working in the area to control hotspots and to prevent the fire flaring up at the edges.
Firefighters have also taken positions along Nelson Bay Road where they were ready to protect properties as required.
Meanwhile, a second fire has broken out to the north at Twelve Mile Creek.
Multiple crews and aircraft responded quickly to the grass fire, which was burning close to the roadside near the intersection of the Pacific Highway and The Buckets Way.
A NSW RFS spokesperson said they did not expect the fire to escalate, but that it would prove a “minor disruption” for crews as they work to contain the larger blaze burning at Salt Ash.
Traffic has been affected in both directions on the Pacific Highway, with smoke over the road and crews working near the road to bring the fire under control, the spokesperson said.
All northbound lanes were reopened around 2.40pm, but one of two southbound lanes remained closed due to the fire.
Drivers have been urged to take care travelling in the area.
Meanwhile, to the south, both Richardson and Medowie roads have remained closed as the bushfire burns, and Nelson Bay Road has been closed after it opened under a reduced speed limit for a number of hours earlier Friday.
The closure of Nelson Bay Road means road access to Nelson Bay has been cut off.
Simon McCarthy
Simon McCarthy is a journalist working at the Newcastle Herald in NSW. He writes news and features, and produces video and multimedia, for the Herald and Herald Weekender magazine. He contributes regularly to the Newcastle Herald’s daily Topics column, and is the co-creator and producer of the Toohey’s News podcast. McCarthy has worked as a journalist in regional NSW since 2013. He joined the newsroom of the Newcastle Herald in 2017 from the Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth where he worked from 2015 to 2016.
Simon McCarthy is a journalist working at the Newcastle Herald in NSW. He writes news and features, and produces video and multimedia, for the Herald and Herald Weekender magazine. He contributes regularly to the Newcastle Herald’s daily Topics column, and is the co-creator and producer of the Toohey’s News podcast. McCarthy has worked as a journalist in regional NSW since 2013. He joined the newsroom of the Newcastle Herald in 2017 from the Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth where he worked from 2015 to 2016.
