For Koolewong locals Craig Gill and wife Sarra Saxon-Gill, the house on the bushy block overlooking Brisbane Waters was their dream home.
That dream turned to embers on Saturday afternoon. Their property was one of 16 destroyed and nine damaged by a fast-moving and furious blaze that overtook the Central Coast suburb.
On Sunday morning, the devastated couple showed the Herald the wreckage of their home. Twisted steel beams – once a support for the garage roof – and melted aluminium littered the ground as they took in the total destruction.
“It’s all gone,” said Saxon-Gill, looking at a still-smouldering tree.
The couple recounted how they had returned home after spending the previous morning with their dogs Snowy, Spitzel, Sandy and Charlie at nearby Umina Beach, when Saxon-Gill noticed the smell of smoke in the air.
Homes and garages gutted by the Koolewong bushfire remain smouldering on Sunday.Credit: Sitthixay Ditthavong
Sixteen houses were destroyed by the Koolewong bushfire.Credit: Sitthixay Ditthavong
She “had 10 minutes” to leave the home with her elderly mother, the dogs and the couple’s parrot Frankie – now in the care of local Labor MP Liesl Tesch – while Craig Gill stayed behind to try to protect the house.
He got on the home’s roof as the flames ran towards the house, then was shocked when the sprinkler he had taken with him didn’t work because there was no water in the tank at the top of the hill.
A photo taken by local Craig Gill, who escaped the Koolewong bushfire across the train tracks.Credit: Craig Gill
He and a neighbour collected other residents along the road and cut a hole in the wire fencing of the railway line, even carrying some elderly people across the train tracks to leave the area.
“It just moved so quickly,” Gill said. “We had done our fire prep the weekend before – cut everything back, we got two 100-foot hoses.”
The Koolewong fire continued to burn on Sunday, with dozens of RFS crews on site water bombing homes and the nearby national park.
Damage by the Koolewong bushfire is evident along roads through the area.Credit: Sitthixay Ditthavong
Residents return to their homes bordering the Koolewong bushfire. Credit: Sitthixay Ditthavong
The blaze was one of 75 burning across the state on the weekend, with Premier Chris Minns warning that December would be a challenging start to the bushfire season given forecasts of hot winds and a warmer Pacific Ocean.
“We’ve been able to speak to some families this morning who’ve lost everything,” Minns said after visiting the scene. “Their houses have gone. Their belongings have gone. The Christmas presents that they bought in the run-up to the 25th have been, well, they’ve been destroyed.”
Among the other homeowners who returned to check on their Koolewong homes on Sunday were Mike and Katie Greene, who were able to retrieve some of their belongings.
Katie Greene said she fled with her children before the fire reached their street.
The couple moved to the area five years ago, and said at least five neighbours had lost their homes, though theirs was saved. “It’s such a lovely local community, it’s just heartbreak,” she said.
The blaze moved fast, fanned by high winds. All Greene heard was a firetruck and, half an hour later, the flames were swallowing houses.
“The bush has been super dry, and it was so hot and so windy today and the firefighters – amazing, amazing,” she said.
Premier Chris Minns visits areas affected by the Koolewong bushfire.Credit: Sitthixay Ditthavong
Surveying the damage at Koolewong.Credit: Sitthixay Ditthavong
NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Trent Curtin said there were total fire bans in place across nine districts on Saturday as a result of the high temperatures, strong winds and low humidity.
“At the peak of the fire we had over 250 firefighters, more than 50 fire trucks and nine aircraft attacking that fire and protecting communities as much as possible,” Curtin said.
While the temperature dropped overnight amid rain in parts of the state, strong winds are hampering firefighting efforts.
“At the moment we’re seeing winds at about 40 kilometres an hour, with gusts higher,” said Curtin. “We still have a watch and act warning in place, so people need to be very careful.”
A natural disaster has been declared as the federal and state governments activated assistance to communities hardest hit on the Central Coast, Mid-North Coast and Upper Hunter regions, as well as in Dubbo in the state’s west.
The declaration allows for a suite of measures to help residents, businesses, primary producers, and councils.
“We know people have lost homes, livelihoods, and their sense of security,” said NSW Minister for Recovery Janelle Saffin.
“These declarations make immediate assistance available so the difficult task of cleaning up and rebuilding can begin when it is safe to do so.”
A watch and act alert for a fire at Redhead, south of Newcastle, has been downgraded to advice after burning through 89 hectares.
Updates on the status of NSW fires can be found at www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/fire-information/fires-near-me or call the Bush Fire information line on 1800 679 737. To report a fire emergency, phone 000.
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
