A volunteer organisation with a hands-on approach to bushfire recovery is threatening to bypass some local governments, which it says are too slow with red tape, so it can help replace destroyed farm fences and rein in loose livestock.

Key points: Blaze Aid volunteer camps have reach record levels after the recent bushfires

Blaze Aid volunteer camps have reach record levels after the recent bushfires Some local councils have been described as more of a hindrance than help in disaster response

Some local councils have been described as more of a hindrance than help in disaster response The Edithburgh Blaze Aid camp has been rebuilding fences with 230 volunteers

Blaze Aid is an organisation that sets-up volunteer camps in firegrounds and then provides materials, volunteer labour, financial assistance, and community spirit to rebuild structures and fences that have been destroyed by natural disaster.

The camps have often been in place within days of a bushfire and, across the country, currently a record 25 volunteer camps have been set-up in South Australia, New South Wales and Victoria.

"The only time we're slowed up is with shire councils," said co-founder and president, Kevin Butler.

"They can take forever and I'm really seriously considering bypassing them altogether."

He said problems could include "endless meetings", a lack of contacts and awareness regarding farmers' needs, or sometimes simply because somebody at a council "falls asleep behind the wheel" and cannot be relied upon to do what they said they would within a required timeframe.

Mr Butler said some councils were "fantastic", particularly in SA where councils were "more attuned to natural disaster response", but in Queensland and Victoria, and NSW to a lesser degree, the responses were too unpredictable.

"People's livestock are running on roads everywhere and people are just becoming exasperated with shire councils," he said.

Yorke Peninsula rebuild underway

Before koalas became the evocative face of summer bushfires ravaging the country, SA's first major fire of the season devastated 11 properties on the Yorke Peninsula during November.

Blaze Aid were on the phone to the local coordinator, Karen Warren, the next day, and a week later Yorke Peninsula Council mayor and local pastor, Darren Braund, had opened up the Light Church Edithburgh — a former school — as a Blaze Aid camp.

The walls have been built up over decades from paddock stones. ( Supplied: Karen Warren )

The Edithburgh Blaze Aid camp has since housed some 230 volunteers from as far afield as Western Australia and NSW, delivering materials and labour to farmers who register for assistance.

Many of its volunteers have been so-called "grey nomads", retirees travelling the country with caravans, while others included people on holidays, locals, and those with connections to Yorke Peninsula.

Ms Warren said farmers could originally be suspicious about how a bunch of "grey nomady-looking people" could be trusted to rebuild their fences — until they saw how effective they were.

"They have to put a lot of trust into what we do because we don't send people out to build fences that aren't going to do a good job," she said.

"Also, they've got all these strangers all over their properties, so that's a huge thing to allow."

Some 30,000 tonnes of stone relocated

A focus for the Edithburgh camp has been removing rock walls that have been built up over more than a hundred years as farmers progressively remove limestone from their paddocks and dumped it alongside boundary fences.

Anywhere between 25 to 40 people are turning up daily to volunteer and build fencing. ( Supplied: Karen Warren )

Some 30,000 tonnes of stone have been relocated so far — with the assistance of a company working at a discounted rate — so that the burnt wire fences they surrounded could be replaced.

"Blaze Aid are paying 50 per cent of the removal of the boundary rock wall and then 50 per cent on the post holes that are being dug for all the boundaries," Ms Warren said.

The group managed to build more than seven kilometres of new fencing in one day after the rocks were removed.

"It's all about having fun too because you've got to watch peoples' mental health," Ms Warren said.

"If you go in there feeling down, your farmer's not going to feel too good either."

Blaze Aid volunteers on Yorke Peninsula take a well-deserved break. ( Supplied: Karen Warren )

Women of the bush a starting point

Mr Butler said the fastest camps were typically established after he spoke to "women of the bush" about a situation and they secured written permission for a camp to be set-up in a facility, which often turned out to be sporting clubrooms.

He considered the Edithburgh camp to be a "fabulous example" of what Blaze Aid could achieve.

"The most sobering point is that Blaze Aid is able to go into the inner sanctum of farmers' hearts and souls," he said.

"Physically no other organisation does that.

"Within three or four weeks almost every one of them is registered with Blaze Aid because we come with bells and whistles and bearing gifts."

Challenging times for everyone

Municipal Association of Victoria deputy rural president, Ruth Gstrein, said everybody in affected regions had been working incredibly hard to make the recovery as fast as possible, "but it's also vital to ensure it is done safely and sustainably".

Some 11 properties were destroyed by the bushfire that started outside Yorketown. ( ABC Radio Adelaide: Malcolm Sutton )

"Communities have been heavily impacted by the bushfires with resources stretched to the absolute limit over the past few weeks," she said.

"Affected councils are working with the support from Bushfire Recovery Victoria, volunteer organisations and other councils' staff offering assistance."

A Local Government NSW spokesperson said it was "challenging times" for everybody affected.

"The enormity of the clean-up and recovery task is made faster and easier when we all pull together to support bushfire-affected councils and their communities," the spokesperson said.

Donations pouring in

Proceeds from Fire Aid will be split evenly among three charities, including Blaze Aid. ( ABC Radio Adelaide: Malcolm Sutton )

Blaze Aid relied on donations and fundraisers — such as a mini music festival called Fire Aid that was held at the University of Adelaide on the weekend — but did not apply for government grants due to the lengthy processes, red tape and delays involved.

It has been, however, receiving donations from governments regardless, with Mr Butler listing state and federal politicians among the organisation's most proactive supporters.

Mr Butler pointed out that there were many people in councils that were "brilliant" and had supported Blaze Aid with efficiency, but the slow pace of others was often "incompetent and inept".

"What I'm thinking of doing very seriously is wiping them off because they're more of a pain in the arse if they hold me up," he said.

"It's an extreme situation because the fires are still going."