FIREFIGHTERS were forced to go house to house, urging residents of the seaside town of Tathra, on NSWs far south coast, to evacuate ahead of a huge bushfire because poor phone reception in the area meant most people failed to get any form of text alert as the fast-moving blaze approached.
Tathra has been left devastated after the bushfire ripped through dozens of homes and businesses.
Its now believed more than 70 properties in the community just east of Bega were damaged or destroyed by the blaze on Sunday evening.
The brave actions of fireys and community members saved more than 150 homes which were at risk of being destroyed. About 150 fire fighters battled the blaze overnight which has so far burnt more than 1000 hectares.
More than sixty remain on the scene assisted by three water bombing aircraft.
GALLERY: INFERNO RAZES SOUTH COAST TOWN
AT A GLANCE
69 homes and other buildings feared lost
39 houses damaged
398 homes saved by the RFS
30 caravans or cabins destroyed
No reports of lives lost so far
100 firefighters involved in battle
300 slept at Bega evacuation centre
Camera IconRazed … A street of destroyed homes in Tathra today.Picture: News Corp Australia, Phillip O’Driscoll
Camera IconMorning after … A home destroyed by the Tathra blaze.Picture: Channel 9, 9 NewsNo warningBut residents say many of them did not receive an early warning alert via text because of poor reception in the area.
Making the situation worse, a mobile phone tower was destroyed by the blaze and reception remains very poor.
Rob White, owner of Tathra Beach House Apartments and a Tathra Chamber of Commerce committee member, stayed overnight to save his property.
Camera IconResidents are still waiting on the all clear to return to their homes.Picture: Channel 9, 9 NewsWe survived the night, our guests were evacuated, were right on the beachfront so I knew wed have an easy escape, he said from inside the evacuation zone.
We put out a few spot fires and there were fires all around us, it was horrendous.
He said poor mobile reception in the area hampered emergency efforts, forcing fire brigade members to go street to street, ordering people to get out.
Camera IconText messages sent to residents around Tathra during the bushfires.Picture: The Daily Telegraph, SuppliedWeve got terrible mobile coverage in Tathra and (its) a lot worse now, he said.
We had no communication, even before the fire came through. There were no alert messages.
Other residents have also complained of the lack of alerts. Several people gathered
at the Bega evacuation centre said none of them had received text messages.
They told News Corp there was no phone reception and they believed the local tower had been destroyed by fire.
Another woman who listened to radio all afternoon said there was no information on when to leave.
She and other neighbours went into the street and collectively decided to leave in the late afternoon.
Reception has now been restored to the area after a generator was hooked up to the damaged tower.
DestructionMr White said he feared losing his property during the firefighting efforts overnight and had seen several properties destroyed in the nearby residential areas backing onto the forest.
There are several streets where there are many houses lost, there are lots of burnt houses.
There are a few in the middle of town which probably went up because of spot fires.
He said he believed nearby holiday accommodation, the Tathra Beachside, which is owned by celebrity Frankie J. Holden, lost several cabins.
The Tathra Hotel, which was recently refurbished, survived.
Bega Valley mayor Kristy McBain, who attended a briefing with emergency services this morning, said there was still a high fire danger.
We have the water tanker coming in to drop water and fire retardant on the northern side of the fire ground, she said.
It looks like Tathra wont be able to be accessed by residents until at least tomorrow.
Essential Energy is on site trying to restore power.
Cr McBain said the Bega Valley had the highest per capita percentage of volunteer firefighters in NSW.
Taralga bushfires: Community digs deep in time of crisis
Camera IconThe raging fire cut through the heart of the township of Tathra.Picture: Channel 9, 9 NewsWeve got a lot of volunteer firefighters. They were going in not knowing how their houses were going. It is truly amazing.
How it happenedThe fire started in the area of Tarraganda, to the southeast of Bega. NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons described the blaze as awful with the strong winds acting like a blowtorch for the embers.
Fanned by strong winds and high temperatures, it burned through several kilometres of bushland and crossed a river before it reached the picturesque township and coastline.
Commissioner Fitzsimmons confirmed a caravan park was impacted but the damage was not yet known.
He said that there were also reports the primary school was not destroyed as initially indicated. However official advice had not yet come through by 9am. A retirement home could also be damaged.
A woman, aged in her 40s, was taken to hospital last night with singed hair and respiratory issues after breathing in hot air.
But, incredibly, there have been no reported causalities or deaths, Commissioner Fitzsimmons said.
Camera IconFirestorm … The township of Tathra from its wharf.Picture: Supplied, Katrina WalshAbout 300 Tathra residents are at the evacuation centre in Bega waiting to hear when they can go back home.
One woman, who requested to not be identified, said her daughter had lost her house in the blaze when it roared through Ocean View Terrace.
Others said they had heard some houses were left standing while all the homes around them were devastated.
Many have stayed with friends and relatives in neighbouring towns overnight. Others slept in their cars at the evacuation centre.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian will visit the region today for an update on the situation in Tathra and is expected to meet residents at the evacuation centre in Bega.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will also fly in to visit the residents at the centre around 3pm.
The risk level remains high in the area, despite the conditions easing as the fire was brought down to Watch and Act at 11pm.
Commissioner Fitzsimmons said he expected some people would be able to return back home today however they still had the challenge of a firefighting operation at Bega Tathra Rd the principal access into the township.
Theres a lot of work going on with trying to contain these fires. Whether thats to the south west of Tathra or to the northern end of the fire on the western side of the Bega River, Commissioner Fitzsimmons said.
Yesterday, more than half the state was placed under total fire bans or severe danger conditions.
Yesterday a fire known as the Reedy Swamp fire started just after lunchtime. It was one of about four or five fires that started in the Bega area, Commissioner Fitzsimmons said.
The Reedy Swamp fire took hold and spread very, very quickly about three kilometres east of Bega. There were strong, hot, dry winds headed straight towards the south east. Sadly Tathra was in the epicentre of that fire path.
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Commissioner Fitzsimmons said that the fire then spread extremely quickly.
It crossed the Bega River and before destroying the dozens of homes in Tathra.
It burnt into properties along Thompson Dr and I would describe those properties as small acreage holdings, he said.
The blaze also roared through the western side of the town in places like Wildlife Dr and Sanctuary Pl.
The main fire front was spreading to the east and the embers were landing ahead of the main fire front, Commissioner Fitzsimmons said.
It was raining embers. When the embers land, whether on timber fences, gardens or homes, those very strong dry winds had the effect of a blow torch accelerating the ignition of that ember.
It was raining fire embers right throughout the streets and the community of Tathra.
Once the homes caught fire the wind was fanning that fire and it would spread to the home next to it.
He said that the embers were landing out to the waters edge and starting fires on the sand dunes and spinifex grass.
It was an awful afternoon for the Tathra community. The losses are going to be very heavy and the early indications driving around last night in the dark the count could be 70 properties or more. There are a lot of specialist teams out in the field this morning assessing what the damage is and what the losses are.
He said there was also aerial reconnaissance work occurring.
Commissioner Fitzsimmons said he expected parts of the township could return into certain areas later today.
However they were contending with asbestos and powerlines so safety was the first priority.
Were mindful of the stress to people wanting to get back in but we cant compromise safety for them, he said.
The impact is extraordinary, early reports were there were 700 people displaced and seeking attention at some of the evacuation centres. Something like 200 or more people stayed overnight in evacuation centres.
Youre talking a massive social impact, devastating to the Tathra community but grateful were not talking lives lost.
Emergency warnings came through at 3.50pm yesterday. At around 10 to 6pm residents were told to take shelter as it was too late to leave.
Once the fire came through it destroyed powerlines and infrastructure.
The emergency alerts and warnings all went. But once the fire came into the township and impacted the powerlines and infrastructure there was a loss of power on telecommunication towers and sewerage treatment works, Commissioner Fitzsimmons said.
The Insurance Council of Australia has declared the event a catastrophe, meaning claims by those affected by the blaze will be given priority. The worst-affected property owners will be given urgent attention, it said in a statement, adding it was too early to determine the extent of buildings lost or estimate the financial toll.
Temperatures are expected to reach 30C in the Bega region on Tuesday, with light easterly winds in the afternoon.
InterstateVictoria is also dealing with a bushfire emergency, with similar hot and windy conditions leading to the loss of about a dozen homes and many farm buildings west of Cobden, in the states northwest.
Hundreds of beef and dairy cattle have also died in the blazes, which burnt through 40,000 hectares of land.
More than 700 firefighters will today tackle bush and grass blazes in Victorias southwest in an attempt to bring them under control after homes and farm buildings were destroyed over the weekend.
Incident controller in Warrnambool Russell Manning said the aim for his team on Monday was to bring the eastern edge of the fires under control with six fire bombing apparatuses and two helicopters to help.
He said a team of 16 vets would also work in the area to assist animals. The Colac Incident Control Centre will keep tackling the fires from Terang, Garvoc to Camperdown with more than 400 personnel helping and 47 vehicles due to respond.
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