Man charged over NSW bushfire A MAN has been charged with causing a bushfire in northern NSW in January. Four water-bombing helicopters and 170 fire fighters were deployed to combat the blaze, which burned out 100 hectares of bushland on January 17 and 18. Police will allege the bushfire started as a result of a car being set alight and abandoned on a fire trail. Detectives formed Strike Force Cadell to investigate the cause of the fire and charged a 20-year-old man on Wednesday. He was granted conditional bail to appear in Cessnock Local Court on June 5.