Bushfire safety

Plan your trip

When planning your trip to a national park, do the following checks to keep yourself safe:

• Check the NSW National Parks alerts page for information on closed areas, safety alerts, hazard reduction burns, and fire bans. You can also subscribe to our alerts.
• Check the Fires Near Me website for current bushfires and download the Hazards Near Me mobile smartphone app before you go.
• Visit the NSW Rural Fire Service for up-to-date information about bushfires including fire danger ratings, Total Fire Bans and major fire updates.
• Check the local weather forecast.
• If a fire ban is in place, follow the rules.
• Listen to local media.
• Download the Emergency Plus app to your mobile or satellite phone before you go.
• Most national parks are wild, remote and isolated. You may not have mobile phone reception if you need help. Consider a satellite phone or a personal locator beacon (PLB).
• Take an emergency survival kit including a working battery-operated radio and spare batteries, first aid kit, protective clothing, waterproof torch, woollen blankets and water.
• Make sure you know and follow the latest bushfire safety advice from the NSW Rural Fire Service available in these factsheets: Bush fire safety for travellers and Bush fire safety for campers and bushwalkers.

Tell somebody

Give your trip details to family and friends who are not travelling with you. Tell them when you expect to return and let them know when you have returned. For longer trips or remote areas, consider filling in a trip intention form and taking a personal locator beacon (PLB).

Safety tips if you are caught in a fire

If you're in a car

• Call Triple Zero (000).
• Face the front of your car towards the fire and park off the road in a clear area away from trees, scrub and tall grass.
• Close windows and air vents.
• Turn off the engine and turn on headlights and hazard lights.
• Cover yourself with a woollen blanket and stay in the car below the windows to protect yourself from radiant heat.
• Drink plenty of water and cover your mouth with a damp cloth.
• Stay down until the sound of the fire has passed. Carefully leave the car (it will be hot).

If you're on foot

• Call Triple Zero (000).
• Do not panic or try to outrun the fire. If you see smoke ahead, turn back.
• Find a cleared area with rocks, hollows, embankments, streams or roads to protect you and avoid hilltops.
• Keep low and cover any exposed skin.
• Drink plenty of water and cover your mouth with a damp cloth.

Burned areas and safety after a fire

Some national parks and reserves have burned areas due to bushfires or hazard reduction burning. For your safety, and to support bushland to regenerate, please stay out of burned bushland areas unless it’s an emergency.

Bushfires can impact landscapes and national park infrastructure. These impacts may be short or long-term.

Some national parks, activities and attractions will re-open after they are deemed safe. Others may remain closed for longer to allow for recovery work or to protect unburnt habitat.

When visiting fire-affected national parks:

• Stay on marked tracks and trails: Only trees near these paths are assessed for safety. Trees within burned areas may be unstable due to fire damage, with branches or trees at risk of falling.
• Avoid walking off-track: This can cause erosion and damage fragile ecosystems that are trying to recover. Staying on trails and keeping off recently burned ground helps protect new plant growth and supports long-term regeneration.

Risks to be aware of if you’re visiting a national park that has been impacted by fire:

• Fallen trees may block tracks and trails.
• Trees or branches could fall at any time.
• Rocks and slopes may be more unstable than usual.
• Infrastructure such as signs, information boards, fences and barriers along tracks, huts, or picnic shelters, may be damaged or missing.
• Adventure sport infrastructure, like rock climbing bolts, may be compromised, damaged or missing.
• Creeks may flood more quickly after rain due to reduced vegetation.
• Water quality may be affected by ash and sediment, so please consider this if you’re relying on creeks as a water source.

Always check for alerts and closures before you visit a national park and read more about how to stay safe in NSW national parks.