From 1 July 2019 to the end of the bushfire season on 31 March 2020, there were more than 11,400 bush and grass fires across NSW. The fires burnt 6.2 per cent of the state – the largest burnt area recorded in a single fire season in eastern Australia.
On 12 November 2019 catastrophic fire danger was declared in the Greater Sydney region for the first time since the introduction of this level in 2009 and a total fire ban was in place for seven regions of New South Wales, including Greater Sydney.
It was common to have the smell of smoke pervade the air and a smoke haze hang over the city.
