Cessnock grass fire forces closure of Hunter Expressway

A large grass fire has burned through 20 hectares of land at Loxford, in New South Wales’ Hunter region, forcing the closure of a nearby expressway.

It also prompted the evacuation of a nearby sewage facility as a precautionary measure.

The fire broke out near Hart Road just before 2pm, when temperatures were about 40 degrees.

It has since been contained, with no homes under threat.

The Hunter Expressway was closed in both directions for several hours, but has since reopened. There is still heavy traffic in the area.

The sweltering conditions made work difficult for Fire and Rescue NSW and Rural Fire Service crews.

“We had 19 crews on at the height of the fire and the reason we had so many was to rotate members due to the extreme heat,” a Fire and Rescue NSW spokeswoman told 9news.com.au.

Local resident Darren Hollett said he smelt smoke about 30 seconds before “the sky was covered in smoke”.

A female firefighter suffered heat exhaustion and was treated by paramedics at the scene, before being taken to hospital.

Temperatures have begun to drop after a scorching day across New South Wales, with a southerly change across Sydney taking the temperature down ten degrees, bringing some relief to emergency crews.