RAIN might have been falling across the Canobolas NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) zone, but it hasn't been enough to ease the concerns of firefighters.
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Thousands of hectares of bushland have already been wiped out this bushfire danger period, with the Gospers Mountain bushfire the largest in the region at 512,626 hectares.
While the Canobolas zone, which includes Blayney, Cowra and Orange local government areas, has had some rainfall this summer it has still been well below average.
So far this month, 51.0 millimetres of rain has been recorded by the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) at Orange Airport, which is below the city's long-term average for the month of 60.4mm.
In December 15.0mm of rain was received, which is significantly below the average of 87.0mm.
At Cowra Airport, 70.6mm of rain has been recorded so far this month which is above the average of 59.6mm.
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In December just 5.0mm of rain fell which is well below the average for that month of 53.3mm.
RFS Canobolas district officer Steve Smith said rainfall had been very patchy across the region.
"Given the drought itself, and we're not over it by a long shot, our concerns are ongoing," he said.
"Our biggest concerns are lightning strikes and forested areas."
In the past 10 days alone, thunderstorms have ignited 20-30 fires around the Canobolas zone.
With storm season still underway, Mr Smith has urged the public to be vigilant in the days after any lighting strikes.
"Please be vigilant of any smoke columns, particularly in forested areas, and if you see them please call triple-0," he said.
Mr Smith has praised the zone's volunteer firefighters for their quick responses to lightning strike fires as well as giving up their time for out-of-area deployments to major fires across NSW since September.
"They've given up holidays and they're not being paid," he said.
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