Second bushfire emergency warning in NSW November 3, 2013 - 6:28PM A second emergency warning has been issued in NSW as a bushfire threatens rural properties in the Southern Highlands. Firefighters and aircraft are battling a fire burning in bushland at Alpine, between the Old Hume Highway and the Hume Highway, the Rural Fire Service (RFS) said on Sunday. There is a small number of isolated properties in the area. It comes after an emergency warning was put in place at Lower Portland on the Hawkesbury River, where dozens of properties remain under threat and residents have been warned it is too late to leave. No damage had been reported in the area as of 6pm (AEDT).