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WatchTowers Networks WatchTowers Networks | Real-time bushfire detection & environmental situational awareness. Built by First Responders, for First Responders.

02/10/2026

Take breaks, stay patient and get there before kick-off. Our cameras will be on watch all weekend so you can enjoy yours.

Drive safe 🏉

28/09/2026

Reminder: from Thursday 1 October you need a permit to light up.

The Bush Fire Danger Period starts across most of NSW on 1 October and runs to 31 March. From then any burning needs a fire permit from your local Fire Control Centre. They are free. Some areas started early this year, so check yours.

In the ACT, permits are needed for open-air burning during the bushfire season, which normally starts on 1 October too. Allow at least five working days for your application to be processed.

Either side of the border, you still need to tell your neighbours and the fire service 24 hours before you burn.

More information and how to apply for a permit:
NSW: https://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/fire-information/BFDP
ACT: https://esa.act.gov.au/contact-us/requests-forms-and-permits/fire-permits

NSW Rural Fire Service ACT Emergency Services Agency

11/09/2026

As the sun sets on another working week, here is one from Bugtown, our newest camera up in the Snowy Mountains.

Hoping your week closes out as nice as this sunset. The camera doesn't get to knock off, but the rest of us can.

07/09/2026

Winter is behind us, so expect to see more smoke about. This is the window for controlled burning.

Several wet years grew the fuel. Southeastern Australia has just had its warmest May to July on record and that fuel is drying it out fast. Burning it now, on the crews' terms, means less of it burning later on nobody's terms.

If you see smoke over the coming weeks it may be a controlled burn. Planned burns are listed in both the Hazard near me App and CentralWatch where you can view them through the cameras:https://centralwatch.watchtowers.io/au

Below: NSW RFS running one of these burns at Blaxlands Ridge in the Hawkesbury yesterday.

Hawkesbury Headquarters Rural Fire Brigade
NSW Rural Fire Service

22/05/2026

Did you catch the meteor last night?🔭
It lit up the sky from southern NSW to the QLD boarder just after 6:30PM.

18/05/2026

Can you spot the smoke? 👀

Low-lying cloud has our Mount Ikes WatchTower looking more like it has ocean views than valley views.

But hidden amongst the cloud is a small column of smoke that our AI picked up early across the landscape.

01/05/2026

🚜🔥A familiar sight across farming country this time of year, paddocks being burnt off ahead of reseeding.

Efficiency is key when you have kilometres of crop residue to manage, with machinery helping farmers work methodically across large paddocks.
When done properly, stubble burning can help clear leftover crop residue, manage pests and weeds, and prepare the paddock for the next sowing.

Burns still need the right conditions, notifications, and local RFS awareness before lighting up.
Not every smoke column is an emergency our cameras help RFS quickly check what is happening before sending crews out.

23/04/2026

All angles covered.
Today’s prescribed hazard reduction burn at the Lower Cotter Catchment, carried out and overseen by ACT Parks and Conservation members.
ACT Parks and Conservation Service

08/04/2026

🔥📷 The Riverina putting on a show.

Our Galore Hill station, sponsored by NSW Rural Fire Service and Transgrid near Lockhart captured this spectacular timelapse of farmers preparing their fields for harvest – and nature decided to add a little drama.

As stubble burns rolled across the landscape, multiple fire whirls formed and danced through the flames. It's a textbook example of fire behavior in action: heat, wind, and terrain coming together to create something equal parts science and spectacle.

These aren't dangerous fires – experienced farmers burning off under controlled conditions – but it's exactly the kind of activity our cameras are designed to monitor. Fire agencies can see what's happening across the landscape in real time, track multiple burns simultaneously, and keep an eye on conditions as they change throughout the day.

The Riverina knows how to work the land. We just help make sure everyone can see it.

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