The rains that brought 32mm to Cootamundra on Monday also fell to varying degrees on the massive Dunns Road fire, taking the pressure off Rural Fire Service (RFS) crews, at least temporarily.
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RFS district manager for the south west slopes, Tom McDevitt, said crews from Cootamundra were being sent daily to the Dunns Road fire until Monday, but have been able to take a breather since the weekend's rains.
"The rain varied significantly across the fire ground (it covers more than 330,000 hectares), from 15mm on the northern end at Ellersleigh just south of Tumblong to 70mm up the mountains, around Cabramurra.
"Whilst it's slowed the fire spread it's also hampered patrolling activities as it doesn't allow vehicles to access the fire ground and also makes any planned backburning activities difficult.
"We may end up sending crews back to the Dunns Road fire as things dry out."
Cootamundra crews have been deployed mainly to Ellersleigh, south west of Gundagai.