The Barkly fire has burnt more than 10,000 sq km of bushland and is inching closer to Tennant Creek on the back of an easterly wind gust.

A team of volunteer firefighters from South Australia is expected to arrive in the Northern Territory on Wednesday and a fleet of trucks is en route to reinforce local crews.

A community meeting was held at the Tennant Creek Town Hall on Tuesday night, with authorities reassuring residents an evacuation was not predicted, despite the NT government activating an Emergency Situation on Tuesday morning.

Nathaniel Stanford from Bushfires NT told residents the Gosse River was the holding point for the town.

“So far the lines are holding well, the concern is the wind shift tomorrow,” he said.

“Gosse River Road is being used as another contingency, if it crosses the river, we’ll build new contingencies.”

Authorities reassured residents their houses would not be lost and if the fire jumped the containment lines, resources would be pulled back to town.

Resident Kitty Tunnell said the mood in Tennant Creek was fairly composed, but some residents were worried about family members who lived remotely.

“People who live in Tennant Creek are a pretty resilient bunch, you’ve got to have a bit of spunk in you to live here,” she told AAP.

“We’ll take it in our stride and support each other.”

South Australia’s Country Fire Service said a team of 20 firefighting specialists including two strike teams of volunteers, officers and a paramedic will fly to Alice Springs on Wednesday.

Six trucks and a command car are already en route to the Barkly region.

Authorities in the NT used the Tennant Creek Town Hall to create a list of people living in remote areas who need to be alerted of the fire threat.

Tennant Creek’s 3000 residents, of which more than half are Indigenous, were urged to “stay calm” as authorities sought special emergency powers to manage the blaze.

NT Police Commissioner Michael Murphy said he was confident the town would not need to be evacuated and the emergency declaration was precautionary.

Acting NT Chief Fire Officer Joshua Fischer said Wednesday and Thursday would be critical in assessing the danger of the mega-blaze.

“This fire has made some remarkable runs in terms of distance in a 24-hour period due to continuous fuels,” he said.

The fire is lurking 30km from Tennant Creek, though Mr Fischer said the heavy fuel loads to the east of the town combined with the strong forecast winds could mean it reaches the border.

Three water bombers, able to dump 3000 litres at a time, are stationed in Tennant Creek.

The Barkly Highway has been intermittently closed since the blaze began on September 6 and smoky conditions on the Stuart Highway could cause closures, Mr Murphy said

The Australian Defence Force has moved into Tennant Creek to help with firefighting efforts.

The Emergency Situation has been declared for the Barkly LGA and is one step lower than a statewide State of Emergency.