Bushfire destroys homes in NSW
AUSTRALIA: At least 70 buildings have been destroyed by a bushfire on the New South Wales south coast, and the Rural Fire Service said that number could increase as firefighters continue to battle the blaze.
RFS deputy commissioner Rob Rogers said early estimates suggest 70 buildings were lost in Tathra.
‘‘Whether that’s homes or businesses, the reports we’ve had overnight are around 70 of those buildings [have been destroyed].’’
RFS commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said he had heard reports the retirement village and the town’s caravan park were also affected by the fire.
Aerial footage of the town, just east of Bega, yesterday showed streets destroyed by fire and some homes still smoking.
The bushfire, which began near Tarraganda, south-east of Bega, jumped the Bega River under hot and windy conditions towards Tathra.
Showing the unpredictable nature of fire, many homes have been reduced to rubble and ash while neighbouring homes appear unscathed.
Fitzsimmons said the seemingly random nature of the fire was the result of embers raining down on gardens, homes and even the sand dunes.
‘‘The wind is like a blowtorch effect to wherever that ember lands in, and it ignites very quickly and fire spreads very rapidly.
‘‘When it’s in and around buildings and people’s homes, the devastation and destruction is obvious, and it’s awful,’’ he said.
Kate Roberts was staying in Tathra’s caravan park on a holiday with her husband and two young children when the fire forced them to flee to the beach.
‘‘At the time you’re just thinking, keep walking, keep walking, and you can see these massive billowing clouds of smoke,’’ she said.
‘‘It was almost like a scene from a movie.’’
Roberts and her family were able to travel to Bermagui once the wind changed, and said they were ‘‘very lucky’’.
‘‘The generosity of people has been amazing,’’ she said.
Residents who evacuated to Bega would be eager to return and assess the damage, but Rogers asked for their patience.
‘‘There is firefighting going on with fires popping up in the township area. We need to secure that,’’ he said.
Properties also needed to be checked to see whether they were structurally safe or contained asbestos, he said.
‘‘We have to do this assessment to make sure they are safe. We are very conscious to get people back to their homes as quickly as we can.’’
The fire broke out in Tarraganda early on Sunday afternoon, before crossing the Bega River.
Fanned by strong winds and high temperatures, it burnt through seven kilometres of bushland into the township and right to the coast.
Rogers said the fire conditions were ‘‘horrendous’’.
‘‘We had that perfect storm: very high temperatures, very low humidity, very dry fuel ... and very strong westerly winds. That pushed this fire so quickly,’’ he said.
‘‘We are extremely lucky no-one was killed.’’
Record March maximum temperatures were set around the south coast on Sunday, with Ulladulla hitting 38 degrees Celsius, Bellambi reaching 37.5C and Albion Park 39.5C.
Fitzsimmons said winds in Bega of 50-70kmh and gusts of up to 90kmh also helped the fire spread ‘‘very rapidly’’.
While the weather had eased yesterday morning, he said firefighters had several busy days ahead.
‘‘We’ve got another couple of days of trying to get containment on this fire,’’ he said.
‘‘Firefighters have got their work cut out over the next few days,’’ Fitzsimmons said.
He said more than 100 firefighters were still working on the fire, with half driving around the streets of Tathra putting out spot fires and the rest fighting the fire further out.
Rogers said the fire was not threatening any properties yesterday and all residents appeared to be safe.
‘‘We can’t be 100 per cent sure that everybody is accounted for, but what I can say is we have no reports of anyone who is missing,’’ he said. – Fairfax