This fire was remembered as one for which hung around for days and for which many resources were provided – brigades, police, army, helicopters, bulldozers and canteens. It started at Newnes on 21st December. At Mt Wilson it was remembered at first as being very smoky and still. It made a few runs on the north side burning out beneath 'Kookaburra Kottige','Pine Lodge', Du Fours Rocks and Wynnes Rocks Road. It crossed over' Breenhold' near the Hall and Ron Gunn talked about fire balls over the Village Hall area. It was kept out of the forest near the Zig Zag but it took off over the end of Wynnes Rocks Road (there were no houses there then) and then wound round the south side of Mt Wilson and took off to Mt Tomah arriving 20 minutes later. A home and several sheds were lost there.

At Mt Irvine they watched it night and day from Cecil Kirk's mine. The army sent 60 personnel to build a trail to the Wollangambe. The fire, pushed by 50 knot winds, bounded up out of the Wollangambe to Yurunga 'like an express train'. Helen Naylor remembers driving through flames up Danes Way with food for the fire fighters. It went straight through number 40 Danes Way. Danes Way became impassable and, as they were worried about properties on Mt Irvine Road, they had to drive across country. The smoke was so thick that the firefighters could not see the gates to properties and had to cut their way through fences. The brigades that came to give our brigade a break could not see either the gates or the cuts in the fences and had to cut new ways through. That fire created good work for fencers!

The fire calmed down and brigades were allowed to go home for Xmas. Our brigade stayed on patrol for Xmas Day from 9.00am till 10.30pm.The Xmas meal was Sao biscuits and tea at Cecil Kirk's. Boxing Day brought rain and thick fog.

Brigade members had worked up to 22 hours a day; Paul remembers his brother Geoff and Alan and Ron Gunn having two hours sleep at Irvineholme. The Fire Control Officer at Katoomba noted that the Mt Irvine Studebaker had done more hours than any other truck in the Blue Mountains during the fire period.
It was during this fire that the fire trail, from the 'Field Selection' road down across Zircon Creek and through the main forest below the Mount Irvine Road and coming out at that road just beyond Farrer Road East, was constructed.