About 100 personnel from NSW Rural Fire Service, NSW Fire and Rescue and Country Fire Authority fought the blazes while individuals caught nearby reacted as best they could when flames approached.

On a hot day in dry conditions, homes were threatened but saved by the quick work of crews.

Their efforts were no doubt a sight to behold, but unfortunately it seems plenty of others took that literally.

"There are already too many people and cars in the way of emergency services," Murray River Police District's Facebook page reported at the height of the incident.

Some were more blunt.

"We cannot stress enough that when there is a fire please DO NOT SPECTATE," Lavington Rural Fire Brigade posted.

"It makes it more dangerous for our firefighters and trucks and slows us down."

IN OTHER NEWS:

To be fair, anyone familiar with Thurgoona streets mid-afternoon knows the amount of traffic generated by the end of the school day.

Roads close to the fires at Racecourse Road, Meander Street and Elizabeth Mitchell Drive would have been busy regardless.

But once it became clear there was an emergency in progress, the most helpful thing anyone not involved could do is get the hell out of the way.

If all you are doing is checking it out, you simply don't need to be there.

Take yourself out of the equation and give the firefighters, police and ambulance officers one less thing to worry about.

This is not hypocrisy coming from a newspaper - our reporters and photographers are there doing a job, a role that actually makes mass attendance unnecessary.

Nobody would blame those genuinely worried about homes or family from approaching the scene, but all others would do well to keep away.

Summer is only 12 days old and already we've had grass fires close to houses in a regional centre.

Tuesday's incident could have ended up so much worse; please ensure nothing you do this season makes the tough job of fighting fires even harder.