By Tom Wark

Suspicion and tensions are high in a widespread regional area as the search for an alleged triple killer enters a second week.

Julian Ingram remains on the run after allegedly fatally shooting three people, including his pregnant former partner Sophie Quinn, in the western NSW town of Lake Cargelligo on Thursday afternoon.

While police scour the bush looking for signs of the 37-year-old, locals are on high alert.

“Everybody’s on edge while the suspect is still at large,” said John Medcalf, mayor of Lachlan Shire Council which includes Lake Cargelligo.

“People don’t feel like leaving their homes.”

A sudden massive police presence in the town of about 1000 people has prompted authorities to reassure locals.

“The community should not be alarmed by the extra police, and we ask everybody in the area to remain vigilant,” Central West Police posted on Facebook on Wednesday.

But even people 100 kilometres from the last known sighting of Ingram in the tiny town of Mount Hope are feeling the unease that comes with a massive manhunt.

“Every little sound in the middle of the night, people think it could be something,” Cobar mayor Jarrod Marsden told AAP.

“I got a phone call at two o’clock in this morning from my daughter that she thought she heard a gunshot.”

The possibility of the council gardener having high-powered guns was likely to increase tension on remote farms and stations, 30-year police veteran and criminology academic Vincent Hurley said.

“If he came onto a property and shot someone … then it could take the ambulance half an hour to get there,” Dr Hurley told AAP.

However, the targeted nature of Ingram’s alleged killings should lessen the threat of more violence, he said.

“The community could feel slightly reassured that he’s not after a random individual,” Dr Hurley said.

Ingram’s knowledge of available water sources would help him remain undetected, the academic said.

But the openness of the terrain, particularly compared to the alpine country search for fellow fugitive Dezi Freeman, should allow police to conduct a more thorough search for longer.

Drones operated remotely can scan large swathes of outback without the need for boots on the ground.

Daytime temperatures have reached 47C in the area for the past three days and maximums are not expected to drop below 40C until Monday.

“It’s feasible that (the search) could be six weeks,” Dr Hurley said.

“I doubt whether he would survive out there for six weeks.”