Police have charged a man with deliberately lighting fires in the state’s north-west yesterday.
About 10.45am (Wednesday 16 August 2023), emergency services were called to Pallal Road, Pallal, about 15km west of Bingara, following reports of a fire on the side of the road.
A short time later, officers conducted patrols of the area and located a man walking out of the Benbraggie State Forest on Killarney Gap Road, Pallal, where further fires were allegedly deliberately lit.
A 33-year-old man was arrested and taken to Inverell Police Station.
Members of the Rural Fire Service (RFS) are in attendance attempting to extinguish the blaze, which has burnt an estimated 40ha so far. At this time there are no threats to nearby properties.
The man was charged with cause or set fire to the property of another, or Crown and intentionally cause fire and be reckless as to its spread
He was refused bail to appear at Inverell Local Court today (Thursday 17 August 2023).
