Bega River-Tathra

Poor little village. I can't get back for 3 weeks but I would like to be there to help. My mate has a troopie and he said he had about 12 people in it and they had bugger all on and nothing with them as he drove them out. lots of older people around and my mates place is really just across the road from a Lions retirement place.
Can't really imagine what it would look like now.

Looks a real mess on the TV helicopter reports! People won't be allowed back there until it's safe i.e. buildings inspected, risk of widow makers, asbestos risk etc.

Latest I have is the pub and schools are OK. The place I live is OK. The local chemist and bakery/coffee shop on the main drag are gone, which is pretty astounding if you know the layout of Tathra. About 30 or so caravans gone. A local restaurant called The Cliff Top (I think) gone. It's just across the road from the pub really and next to the Post Office.
I can't be sure about my mates house as I can't get hold of him but I know the fire was no more than about 60 or so mtrs from him and houses on the street on the hill around the corner from him are all buggered.
No one is allowed back in at the moment so it really is a pretty bad scene.
At least 70 homes all up in smoke but no final count and the fire flared up again at Kalaru which would be a real danger spot for a fire. The choppers and a plane or two were fire bombing this afternoon apparently and fires also flared closer to Bega. A bit of a mess really.

Still fire-bombing nearby even now! At least the local community can get-together at the pub! Aerial shots do show that the pub is OK and also shows how close the fire got to it. So 70+ homes represents about 18%+ of the towns population affected - that's a big hit. :sad:

Over 100 homes burnt. That's massive. As far as I know some people will be escorted in but no-one is allowed to stay. Speaks for itself.
My poor little town. I've never lived in a place that this has happened to. Months and months of cleaning up and rebuilding. My landlady has lived in here house for 60 years. She has never seen anything remotely like this.