Of those fires, more than 400 are believed to have been caused by lightning strikes, leading to more than 1000 firefighters and 374 aircraft battling the blazes which burnt more than 109,000 hectares of land across the state.

The efforts have drawn the praise of RFS Liverpool Plains District co-ordinator Myles O’Reilly.

“We certainly have had a lot going on in our space,” Mr O’ Reilly said.

“The service is well prepared and as we have seen we have got some fantastic team members and volunteers.” 

Mr O’Reilly said lightning strikes have caused local firefighters the most amount of trouble in January.

“Lightning strikes are definitely the leading cause of fires in the district,” he said.

“Given the difficult terrain of some of the fires caused by lightning strikes, it’s meant we have heavily relied on ground troops and aircraft to battle the fires.”

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The Liverpool Range co-ordinatior praised the co-operation of RFS crews from across the state.

“It probably doesn’t get enough air time really,” he said.

“But the co-operation that we have seen from across the state has been terrific.”

Mr O’Reilly said that while people have been prepared so far fire season is far from over.

“There is always room for improvement,” he said.

“More communication is needed regarding fire risks and having a fire plan ready, particularly for those living in town.

“We have found that people out on the land are quite resilient and prepared and we want to encourage people in town to be as prepared.”

Weather will play a part in the rest of the fire season with the Bureau of Meteorology forecasting dry but cool conditions for the coming days.

“It’s fire season and the weather is variable,” Mr O’Reilly said.

“This cooler weather and recent rain has certainly been very helpful in some areas where crews are working and we hope that it continues.”

For more information regarding current fire activity or to learn more about bushfire survival plans visit www.rfs.gov.au.