A suspicious bushfire at Helensburgh had firefighters on high alert on Wednesday with concerns hot afternoon winds could cause havoc.
A burnt out car is believed to have sparked the blaze off the Hacking River Fire Trail near Helensburgh tip, just before 7am.
Rural Fire Service spokesman Matt Reeves said the exact cause of the fire was under investigation.
“Our biggest concern at the moment [was] making sure the fire [was] properly mopped up and patrolled as the temperature increases and the winds increase and the humidity drops during the day,” he said.
“Under the forecast conditions expected during the day there’s the potential for small embers to escape and reignite and it could become a bigger issue.”
The blaze burnt four hectares of bush. Mr Reeves said this could have been much worse had a passer by not called triple zero. A total fire ban had been declared for the Illawarra on Wednesday.