heart breaking news from sleepy little Tathra so sad and sorry to see the devastation

A “LARGE” and “very fast-running” inferno has cut a swath of destruction through the tight-knit south coast community of Tathra — with Bega Valley mayor Kristy McBain saying that at least 35 homes had been lost and the local primary school was gone.

Hundreds of residents sheltered overnight in a makeshift evacuation centre at Bega Showground.


and now the news from Vic  is just as bad.....awful stuff  farmers having to shoot their cattle.....


thank god for our firies   

Sir Spot of Borg wrote on Mar 19^th, 2018 at 8:17am:



if that Tathra spot  it doesnt look good.70 homes gone.... at least no lives lost... but  retirement place all gutted....I believe the wind was indescribable at last I think its eased up.... I  guess she is in Bega Hospital....but the news can be just as devastating...

It is not great, but here in Vic they are not really BAD (I fought both Ash Wednesday and Black Saturday fires they were BAD BAD) these are grass fires at the end of summer, when the grass is not that long or thick as it could be.
Saturday night my daughter and I went out the back yard to let the dog do it's business before bed, and she spotted the red glow and asked what it was. It was the start of the fires that hit Terang and Garvoc.

A few properties have been lost, and that is a tragedy for them, but as this area is not BUSH, but grazing land, it is on a whole different level, less intense, except for the direct victims, loss is loss.

Firies again doing amazing job, we should all support them as much as we can.

Also chip in to support those who are in need if you are able.

Redmond Neck wrote on Mar 19^th, 2018 at 9:09am:



Nope, the STRONG winds predicted did not come. Thankfully, or luckily, as it was. It was pretty windy Saturday, with some very strong SE gusts, but the NW change, that was predicted to come with up to 100 k winds Sunday morning, never arrived. If they had the fire would have blown into far Bushier country between the Princes Hwy and the coast. It would have burned Port Campbell to Warrnambool to the coast. If it had got into the Otways, via Lavers Hill, Cape Otway forest, it could have been catastrophic.
We were apprehensive yesterday morning, waiting for the wind to come, but it never did, Easterlies with s few light showers came, and we were bloody grateful.
The religious, thanked the lord.

Valkie wrote on Mar 19^th, 2018 at 10:55am:


Good point Valkie, who thinks the government should give volunteer firies a tax exemption, like a bonus sort of thing?
Maybe 10% tax discount, or something at least.
It would show gratitude and respect in a more concrete way.

Redmond Neck wrote on Mar 19^th, 2018 at 9:09am:


Did you see the colour of the sky? People tell me thats from dust inland . . . .

Spot

Devastating to lose everything like this- wildfires  are so destructive- how do old people recover after this- not just possessions lost but a lifetime of memories 

cods wrote on Mar 19^th, 2018 at 9:15am:


Yup - we used to live not far from Taffra and knew some people there... lady got shark bit and killed there coupla years ago ... includes my orthopaedic surgeon who did some work for me free.... in between lecturing at ANU... he's a good man and not greedy.  Two girls were once kidnapped from there and later murdered - the scum responsible are still behind bars and dreading the day any Bega Valley bloke arrives in prison...

Very hot and windy here yesterday but no smoke thank God.

Oh, dear.

Plenty of smoke in the air up here.. must be blowing up on that southerly.

cods wrote on Mar 19^th, 2018 at 4:16pm:


Just watching the news - Tathra looks like a war zone.. 69 homes destroyed - 26 fires across NSW.  That's why there's smoke up here.

this doesnt look good..

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/tathra-bushfire-fire-and-rescue-nsw-o...

THE Rural Fire Service knocked back two offers from Fire and Rescue NSW to send emergency brigades to fight the Tathra bushfire in the hours before dozens of homes were destroyed on Sunday.

Fire and Rescue NSW incident logs show the state government agency, recognising a high volume of Triple 0 calls flooding the system, tried to send a crew to fight the fire outbreak at Reedy Swamp in Bega Valley at 12.34pm and then again at 12.58pm.

But both of the offers from the body responsible for fire fighting in towns and cities were declined by the Rural Fire Service, the biggest volunteer fire service in the world.

Fire and Rescue NSW’s log for 12.58 reads: “FR assistance offered and declined.”

It wasn’t until three hours later as the fire tore into the south coast town that the RFS issued a request for help at 3.40pm. “Priority request. From RFS. fire front approaching Tathra req (sic) all available FRNSW appliances to Wildlife Dr,” the log shows.


The incident log from the Rural Fire Service shows that Fire and Rescue NSW’s offers of assistance were declined.
Under a Memorandum of Understanding between the two agencies, the Rural Fire Service is required to formally accept an offer of assistance from Fire and Rescue before the government agency is able to respond to emergencies.

There was no warning that said we should consider evacuating

After the offers for assistance were rejected, Fire and Rescue NSW dispatched a pumper engine crew from nearby Bega to Reedy Swamp at 1.03pm saying according to the log it was “probably” in their jurisdiction in any case. It arrived at 1.19pm.

The incident logs show there were about 48 Triple 0 calls received for the Reedy Swamp Fire. When the fire escalated in Tathra, Fire and Rescue NSW sent at least a dozen brigades from Batemans Bay, Narooma, Bega, Merimbula, Thredbo, Berry, Nowra and Braidwood.
An RFS spokesman said the first Triple 0 calls were received just before 12.30pm on Sunday and firefighters from a number of local RFS were dispatched with the first arriving on scene at 12.43pm

By the time the RFS sent out a warning at 3.48pm to the residents of Thompson Drive, David Neyle’s wife and sons had already fled.


“There was no warning that said we should consider evacuating,” Mr Neyle said.


Some residents claimed hazard reduction burns around their homes had not been carried out for decades before the inferno, blaming “green” groups. Vegetation in the area had created tinderbox conditions, they said.


Emergency Services Minister Troy Grant said there would be an investigation into Sunday’s operations.

“This review will consider the causes of the fire, and the response of all agencies involved,” a spokesman said. Residents yesterday expressed fury they received no warning text messages or they came too late.