Driver cops $1,320 fine after throwing a lit cigarette from his car in Sydney during bushfires

Driver tells cops he is a ‘boofhead’ after being fined $1,320 for throwing a lit cigarette out of his window as bushfires raged just 20km away

  • Driver copped $1,320 fine for throwing a lit cigarette out his driver’s seat window
  • The 51-year-old was driving in Sydney’s south-west as fires were just 20km away
  • Officers were patrolling at the time and issued him with the infringement notice
  • Just 20km away an out-of-control inferno was burning at Green Wattle Creek
  • At 6am on Sunday there were 96 bush and grass fires in NSW – 47 not contained 

A driver has been hit with a $1,320 fine after police caught him throwing a lit cigarette out his car window during a total fire ban.  

The 51-year-old male driver was driving along Appin Road in Rosemeadow, in Sydney’s south-west, while massive fires burned just 20km away.

Officers from Campbelltown Highway Patrol were in the area at the time and issued him with the fine for discarding a lit cigarette during a total fire ban.

The 51-year-old male driver was driving along Appin Road in Rosemeadow, in Sydney’s south-west, while massive fires burned just 20km away

A driver was hit with a fine for throwing a lit cigarette out of his car while bushfires raged just 20km away

A driver was hit with a fine for throwing a lit cigarette out of his car while bushfires raged just 20km away

When asked by police why he had thrown the cigarette, he told them: ‘I’m a boofhead’. 

Hundreds of people took to social media to slam the driver for his negligence as bushfires currently ravage the state.

‘Hopefully this boofhead has learnt a very valuable lesson,’ one Facebook user wrote.

‘Throwing a cigarette out of a window in the current climate should have been charged with attempted arson,’ another wrote.

Just 20km away a major out-of-control inferno was threatening homes at Green Wattle Creek.

The bushfire in Sydney’s south-west has eased over the weekend, but firefighters are still battling more than 100 fires across the state.

NSW firefighters took advantage of easing conditions to try to get bushfires under control before temperatures are set to soar again this week.

Fire trucks are seen during a bushfire in Werombi, 50km south west of Sydney on Friday

Fire trucks are seen during a bushfire in Werombi, 50km south west of Sydney on Friday

RFS volunteers and NSW Fire and Rescue officers protect a home on Wheelbarrow Ridge Road being impacted by the Gospers Mountain fire near Colo Heights south west of Sydney

RFS volunteers and NSW Fire and Rescue officers protect a home on Wheelbarrow Ridge Road being impacted by the Gospers Mountain fire near Colo Heights south west of Sydney

Conditions have eased on Sunday, allowing firefighters a chance to do critical back-burning and containment work ahead of Tuesday, when the mercury is tipped to soar to 40C in parts of the state. 

NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said overnight conditions had improved.

‘We’ve got much more benign conditions, particularly a dominant easterly influence which will stretch pretty much right across most of our fire grounds,’ he told Seven News on Sunday.

‘Which means hundreds – as a matter of fact more than 1600 – firefighters are around again today doing really important and critical back burning and containment-line consolidation to try and gain the upper hand before those conditions deteriorate into Tuesday.’

These are the fires still burning on Friday night. Several of the fires north of Sydney have merged together to form a megablaze which is bearing down on the city's edges. The Gospers Mountain fire covers more than 200,000 hectares

These are the fires still burning on Friday night. Several of the fires north of Sydney have merged together to form a megablaze which is bearing down on the city’s edges. The Gospers Mountain fire covers more than 200,000 hectares

People watch as smoke from the Green Wattle Creek fire is visible from Echo Point lookout in Katoomba

People watch as smoke from the Green Wattle Creek fire is visible from Echo Point lookout in Katoomba

At 6am on Sunday there were 96 bush and grass fires in NSW – 47 of which were not contained. Four fires are at a watch and act level.

The central ranges, northwestern, New England, Greater Hunter and northern slopes regions are all facing a day of very high fire danger.

The danger is high in the Greater Sydney, Monaro alpine, far north coast, southern slopes, north coast, ACT, southern ranges and Illawarra/Shoalhaven areas, and low to moderate in the rest of NSW.

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