Superintendent Lachlann Ison from Kempsey Fire Control said the fire up on the Bollanolla/Viewmont mountain range, which was reported on Sunday, currently has "being controlled" status.

He said there were two ignition points on a fire trail but it is not known how the fire began. It was not a scheduled burn.

The main problem today is the wind, which is blowing at 30-50 kph from the west.

"There's not much we can do with the wind like this, apart from keeping an eye on it," Supt Ison said. "Hopefully we can be more proactive tomorrow."

There are six RFS crews and two from National Parks on site, along with a small dozer brushing up containment lines and a helicopter on reconnaissance.

The helicopter may be used for bucketing later, but currently it is checking out wet gullies and fire trails that may prove useful for containment.

There are no properties in the path of the fire and it is only moving slowly on its eastern side.

Asked what advice he had for the community ahead of the start of the bushfire season, Supt Ison noted that many people think summer is the dangerous fire period and are looking to do hazard reduction now.

But in our area, at this time of year, we tend to get strong, dry winds like today that make hazard reduction burns a very poor idea.

"We're already in the bad time to light a fire," he said.