Police Charge Woman After Scrub Fire - Hunter Valley

A woman will face court charged following a fire in Scone early this morning, that was allegedly caused by a discarded cigarette.

About 4.45am (Tuesday 27 January 2026), emergency services were called to the New England Highway, Scone, following reports of a fire.

At the scene, officers located a scrub fire that was extinguished by NSW Rural Fire Service and Fire and Rescue NSW firefighters.

A short time later, police arrested a 34-year-old woman walking south along the highway near the scene of the fire.

She was taken to Muswellbrook Police Station where she was charged with discard lighted cigarette/match etc on land, and leave fire lit/used in open air without extinguishing it.

She was granted conditional bail to appear before Muswellbrook Local Court on Tuesday 24 February 2026.

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