Harvesters and timber mills are racing against time to fell bushfire-ravaged pine trees in the Riverina before they become worthless.

Key points: Almost 50,000 hectares of pine plantations in the Riverina, owned by Forestry Corporation, were burnt in the Dunns Road bushfire

Almost 50,000 hectares of pine plantations in the Riverina, owned by Forestry Corporation, were burnt in the Dunns Road bushfire Harvesters and mills are racing against the clock to process the pine trees before they become worthless

Harvesters and mills are racing against the clock to process the pine trees before they become worthless There could be a shortage of timber, woodchips, and paper as a result

"It was just tremendous," Elle Kromar said of the enormity of the Dunns Road bushfire, which has now ravaged more than 330,000 hectares of the New South Wales Riverina region since the blaze first started just before New Year's Eve.

"The heat — you don't know what it's like until you're right there."

Forestry Corporation harvesting supervisor Elle Kromar says it's hard to imagine the heat of a bushfire until you're there. ( ABC Riverina: Rosie King )

Ms Kromar, Forestry Corporation's harvest manager in the region, was one person in a whole army of employees who joined firefighting crews to save the towns they lived in and more than 120,000 hectares of pine plantations from the flames.

Despite their heroic efforts, a third of the region's pine trees — around 48,000 hectares — has been damaged by fire. Most of it is owned by Forestry Corporation.

The race against time

Timber is big business in this region — it is estimated to be a $2-billion industry that employs around 5,000 local people directly and indirectly.

But all 48,000 hectares are not lost, just yet.

Depending on the severity of the damage, the burnt trees can still be processed — but it will cost more and output will be less.

The biggest challenge for now, though, is time.

"We're trying to get as many of the burnt trees into the sawmills as quickly as possible while they're still fresh, and by fresh I mean the sap is still there," Forestry Corporation's regional manager Dean Anderson said.

"If we don't get all the trees down, what happens is they get a fungus in them that makes the logs turn blue and dries them out and that makes it too awkward for sawmilling.

"We've got 12 months — 18 at most — to get them harvested and processed."

Forestry Corporation owns the majority of the 50,000 hectares of pine plantations damaged by bushfire. ( ABC Riverina: Rosie King )

That means no rest for people like Rab Green, the manager of AKD Softwoods' sawmill in Tumut.

"We'll have to double our maintenance on the machines because all the charcoal on the timber will add to the wear and tear," Mr Green said.

"We're looking at more contractors. We'll be employing more people where we need to, and we'll be doing more hours on the weekend and after hours.

"Everyone is looking at options to make sure we can get as much through this mill as we possibly can.

"We are ramping up to go flat out to make sure we don't lose that precious resource that's out there because it's very important — not just to us but to the industry and to the region as a whole."

The charcoal on the logs will mean harvesting and milling is harder and more expensive. ( ABC Riverina: Rosie King )

An uncertain future

But the question on everyone's lips is: what long-term impact will there be?

"We've had a very honest conversation with our team about our job over the next 12 months and what the future beyond that is," Mr Green said.

"We've been upfront about the fact that we just don't know.

"We know we've lost 30 per cent of our forests but we don't know what that means after we get through the next year or so."

Mr Anderson said Forestry Corporation was committed to replanting and rebuilding the multi-billion dollar sector but was realistic about the fact that a shortage of timber, woodchips, and paper looms.

"There'll be a bit of a hiatus, probably around the two to three-year mark," he said.

"It won't be a full cessation — we'll just be able to generate less — and that's what we've got to work out, the scale of that reduction.

"But we're trying to smooth things out as much as possible by salvaging the logs as quickly as we can and replanting as quickly as we can."

Replanting is vital and there's plenty of eagerness within the existing workforce to breathe new life back into the forests.

"Re-establishing the forest will be a huge task, but everyone has faith," Ms Kromar said.

"We're a region that thrives and survives on forestry so we're here and we're ready to get it back on track."

Industry can't do it alone

Softwoods' working group chairman Peter Crowe, who has been in the industry for more than 40 years, believed it was critical for all levels of government to lend a helping hand to foot the bill for the recovery efforts.

"All this salvaging comes at a very, very significant cost, and then there's the rapidly accelerated wear and tear on harvesting machines and sawmill equipment," Mr Crowe said.

"On the planting front, to plant back around 50,000 hectares, we're talking a couple of hundred million dollars right there.

"And then we've got all the environmental management concerns because of the fire and, sooner or later, heavy rain, which will come at a serious cost."

Peter Crowe says the industry is damaged but far from destroyed. ( ABC Riverina: Rosie King )

Mr Crowe has met with Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack and Deputy Premier John Barilaro to discuss the industry's future.

"I'm confident they both understand fully the implications of this," Mr Crowe said.

"It's a matter of us playing as a team and working together to get the best possible outcome for our community because they're the ones that are going to suffer out of all this."

In the back of everyone's minds, too, is the personal toll the past few weeks have taken and the importance of taking time to process that experience.

"It's a strange sort of hurt," Mr Anderson said.

"You put big effort into growing these trees and protecting them, and to get them to this stage and see them like this — it's devastating.

"We're really looking out for each other and encouraging everyone to speak to their mates, rather than try to bottle it all up."

Forestry Corporation owns the majority of the 50,000 hectares of pine plantations damaged by bushfire. ( ABC Central West: Mollie Gorman )

For Ms Kromar, it was about relishing the small wins.

"It's really only just starting to hit now, to be honest," Ms Kromar said.

"But I'm celebrating every bit of rain and every tiny bit of grass I see next to the road because it means we're growing again."