A blaze near Port Stephens, which appeared under control, has flared up and claimed another home, catching fire fighters off guard THE area at Port Stephens where a fire destroyed two houses, razed two granny flats and caused hundreds of thousands of dollars damage was due to be back-burned within the next year - under a partly Green motivated rule where areas are backburnt at seven-year intervals. Port Stephens Mayor Bruce MacKenzie unleashed yesterday on the O'Farrell government and its agencies for caving in to "do-gooders and greenies" and failing to do more hazard reduction burns in the area Salt Ash which went up in flames on Sunday. Properties destroyed by fire in Salt Ash on Sunday. "It's a disgrace - an absolute disgrace, on the part of National Parks and the government that fuel was allowed to build up such as that," Mr MacKenzie said. It's inexcusable as far as I'm concerned. Control of hazard reduction has to be handed back to the local brigades - full-stop, no excuses. Reg Hyde surveys the damage after Sunday's bushfires. Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons confirmed yesterday the area at Salt Ash had suffered a bushfire almost exactly six years ago and had therefore not been back-burned or prescribed burned since. And, he said, part of the reason for areas not being back-burned for seven years at a time was environmental or "ecological." "There was a fire that went through that area in 2007," Mr Fitzsimmons said. They were planning to do it [back-burning] in the next year or so. Mr Fitzsimmons said the rule to burn off every seven years or so varied according to vegetation and was more a rule of thumb but confirmed it was partly to do with "biodiversity" and "ecological" factors as well as the "fuel load." "Seven years is a guide but it's not a mandated thing," he said. Shane Vichie surveys the damage to his air conditioning business after Sunday's bushfires. For eucalypt forests, the Service might wait 10-12 years to do a burn. Mr MacKenzie railed against the lack of action, saying he was "100 per cent satisfied that the local brigades would like to do more hazard reduction." I did some hazard reduction on my land four to five years ago. If they came and did it they would have to fill out a lot of paperwork. It's the do-gooders and the greenies. Where are the possums and koalas today? They're fried. While I own it [my property] I'll continue to do my own hazard reduction, whether I get into trouble for it or not. A police officer cordons off a home destroyed by fires / Picture: Neil Keene Source: News Limited You talk to the local brigades and they want to do it but their hands are tied, and if they do it they've got paperwork about 10mm thick to carry out. Mr Fitzsimmons and Premier Barry O'Farrell defended the government's hazard reduction policies yesterday, with the Premier saying the government had increased its hazard reduction burns to 280,000ha statewide in 2012-2013, compared to 117,000ha in 2010-2011. Photos show Bill Howard's property in Salt Ash, gutted despite fire crews battling to save the home. "We committed ourselves to increasing hazard reduction by 45 per cent in our first term and we are on track to do that," Mr O'Farrell said. I have asked the Rural Fire Service Commissioner to sit down with the Mayor ... to see what lessons we can learn. One of the properties destroyed by fire in Salt Ash on Sunday. The fire began on National Parks land but Environment Minister Robyn Parker said National Parks had also greatly increased its hazard reduction program. Mr Fitzsimmons said Port Stephens had a higher-than-90 per cent completion of its programs for the past three years, compared to the 83 per cent statewide average. Mr MacKenzie also called for the government to establish larger buffer zones between public land and private property. Local Government NSW president Keith Rhoades, a 39-year veteran of the fire service and spokesman for 152 councils, said local rural fire service brigades were "bogged down by a lack of manpower to be able to back-burn." It's led to fuel buildups. Are there enough volunteers on deck to carry out this work? They do not get paid, they do this in their free time and we have to recognise the wonderful job they do. Property damage in the Port Stephens area after Sunday's bushfires. POLICE are trawling through footage from two security cameras near the Sydney Olympic Park aquatic centre as they try to identify a smoker they believe was the source of the blaze that destroyed 47 cars on Sunday. As the damage bill climbs toward $1 million, a NSW Police spokesman confirmed charges could be laid if someone dropped a cigarette that sparked the blaze. Locals drive away from a carpark at the Homebush Aquatic Centre where a massive fire erupted. And lawyers say the person could also face legal action by any car owners not insured. "Once they are identified, they can certainly be sued if the fire was the consequence of someone's negligence," said Hicksons Lawyers insurance partner Michael Hunt. Mr Hunt said it was also "not impossible, not easy" to prove Sydney Olympic Park were partly to blame for the fire but added it would have to be "blatantly obvious" that management had not attended to a potential bushfire risk such as long, dry grass. A Sydney Olympic Park spokesman refused to comment. The fire started on a patch of mulched grassland only metres from the aquatic centre carpark at 3pm. Within seconds it spread and then jumped along the carpark, destroying 47 cars. "Every car has an amount of residual oil on the engine and given the very high heat and strong winds, that's ignited and forced flame from vehicle to vehicle," Fire and Rescue NSW superintendent Ian Krimmer said. The blaze was helped along by 33.8C heat in Homebush and wind gusts of 65km/h.