It was a first for the Hunter, with conditions so extreme the Rural Fire Service sent out text messages and made automated landline calls on Saturday night to phones within the region.

The calls and texts warned residents, already hot and bothered after battling through a day of record-breaking temperatures, to be alert to the situation and “avoid bushfire prone areas”.

In the end, thankfully, the Hunter avoided much of the terror experienced in some other areas in the state on Sunday.

 At Williamtown the mercury reached 45.5 and across the Hunter temperature records fell on Saturday, with Cessnock reaching 46.8 degrees, Singleton sweltering through 47.2 and Maitland hitting 45.6 degrees – its hottest day in 49 years.

Sporting events were cancelled, concert start times pushed back and residents urged to rethink any camping plans.

People living near bushland were singled out for a particularly ominous warning.

“If you are in a catastrophic fire danger area and you are close to the bush, the safest thing to do right now is to go to a major town that is well away from the bush,” Rural Fire Service spokesperson Paul Best said early on Sunday.

 “The conditions are so dangerous that the safest option for people in those areas is to leave. They should not wait for the heat of the day to set in.”

Being informed, and slightly alarmed, may have encouraged people to be on guard, however that did not stop some criticism from residents, who were scared by the text messages. 

While such warnings may have alarmed many, we can never know what would have happened without them.

Karl Braganza from the Bureau of Meteorology said the weekend conditions across the state were extremely rare.

“(The conditions are) comparable with events such as the 1939 heatwave that were associated with the Black Friday bushfires in Victoria," he said.

On that day, 71 people died and over 1300 homes were lost. Perhaps being prepared, and even a little alarmed, is not a bad thing.