Twenty-five schools across NSW have been closed amid extreme weather conditions that have led to the first catastrophic fire danger rating in more than two years.
The NSW Rural Fire Service issued the catastrophic warning for the first time in any part of NSW since September 2023, due to hot, dry and windy conditions that will see temperatures soar up to 35 degrees Celsius today and Thursday.
“Catastrophic is the highest level of bush fire danger and the most dangerous conditions for a fire,” the RFS said in its warning.
In a statement today, the NSW Education Department said the school closures are a precautionary measure.
“Some schools remain closed until we can safely assess potential impacts to school sites,” the Department said. “We will conduct these assessments as soon as it is safe to do so.”
Fourteen of the schools are in southern NSW in the NSW electorate of Cootamundra, the seat of former NSW Emergency Services Minister Steph Cooke.
“Most of them are small, isolated schools,” Ms Cooke told ABC Riverina Breakfast today. “This is a precautionary measure to make sure that our children are safe, that our communities are safe because of the bushfire risk.”