Duty forecaster with the Bureau of Meteorology, Mick Logan, said a maximum temperature of 42.2 degrees was recorded at Scone on Saturday, November 15 with Murrurundi not far behind on 36.3 degrees.

“We’re expecting temperatures to rise again later this week with a return to north westerly winds and very little cloud.

“The Upper Hunter is expecting mid to high 30s on Thursday and maximums could go as high as 40 degrees on Friday,” Mr Logan said.

On Monday, the Rural Fire Service suspended fire permits until further notice in the Muswellbrook and Singleton local government areas.

Superintendent Paul Jones, with the Hunter Valley Zone RFS, said until the LGAs get some decent rain, of between 5mm and 10mm, the RFS won’t be allowing residents or landholders to maintain a fire in the open.

The RFS said the Byram-Keetch Drought Index (BKDI), which measures fire danger across much of south east Australia, has now topped 110, meaning more rain is required to return the soil to saturation and fires are easier to ignite and more difficult to extinguish.

Supt Jones said RFS crews have had a difficult week in the hot and windy conditions.

“Late Friday afternoon, Mangoola, Sandy Hollow, Wybong and Edinglassie Brigades took two hours to control a grassfire on the Wybong Road.

“We believe a car dragging a ladder along Wybong Road caused sparks to fly which ignited bush near the intersection with Reedy Creek Road about 4pm,” Supt Jones said.

In the early hours of Saturday, Edinglassie Brigade took an hour to extinguish a blaze caused by arcing power lines near Liddell Power Station on the New England Highway.

Several hours later the Edinglassie Brigade were on call again after a grassfire started in Edderton Road at Muswellbrook.

Both blazes burned about one hectare before they were contained by firefighters.

Superintendent Paul Jones said the Belford Brigade was called to Singleton’s Dalwood area on Sunday morning following reports of an illegal fire.

“The resident was burning off cardboard and scrap timber in an old stainless steel mine washery container without a fire permit.

“He’s lucky it wasn’t on Saturday because we had a Total Fire Ban on that day and if you light a fire on a Total Fire Ban day you face a $2200 fine,” Supt Jones said.