It's because wet weather and mild conditions over the summer and early autumn have left scrub too green to start burning just yet.

Fire crews understand better than anybody the importance of backburning at the right time, and Tamworth RFS district officer Phillip Brunsdon said they didn't want to do it too early and waste a better chance later on in the year.

"It's still a bit too green and the fuel moisture content isn't quite right to do it," he said.

"So when we do our burning we're restricted by a set of environmental rules, so if we do go and burn and it doesn't burn properly then we've essentially wasted an opportunity."

Doing it at the right time can also improve the amount of ground they cover and remove the need to return to the same area twice, saving time and resources in the process.

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"We've just got to try and find the right window so we're getting the right coverage that we want," he said.

The Liverpool Plains RFS shared a similar sentiment, stating it would wait until conditions were a little less green before starting its hazard reduction activities.

Burn-offs have been in the spotlight since the 2019-20 black summer bushfires that devastated the country and in particular NSW, which were preceded by a lack of backburning due to the drought and government red tape.

However, with conditions getting better throughout most of the state during the past 15 months thanks to wetter and cooler weather, RFS crews have been quick to remove as much fuel for fires as possible.

Controlled burns have been a crucial part of land management in Australia for a long time, with experts believing indigenous people begun the practice thousands of years ago.

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