NSW Rural Fire Service says a number of houses were lost in Rappville, south of Casino

This article is more than 11 months old

This article is more than 11 months old

Up to 30 homes have been destroyed or severely damaged and some residents suffered burns when a huge out-of-control bushfire in northern New South Wales ripped through the rural hamlet of Rappville.

One witness has described how birds dropped dead out of the sky at the height of the blaze.

Rural Fire Service deputy commissioner Rob Rogers says the blaze wreaked havoc on Tuesday afternoon ahead of what’s likely to be a “very long summer” of bushfires.

Rogers said on Wednesday that two fires - at Drake near Tenterfield and at Busbys Flat near Rappville - had joined together to form one large blaze which has already consumed 92,000 hectares.

Crews continue to battle the massive fire as they work to contain it over the coming days.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Cattle in Ewingar in northern NSW, during the fires on Tuesday. Photograph: Facebook/Nadine Gaffney

“We are still using that figure of up to 30 homes across these fires,” Rogers told ABC TV.

“Unless we get some really meaningful rain, I think it’s going to be a very long summer.

“Before these fires, we had already lost around 44 homes in NSW due to fires so far this fire season, and obviously that number could climb significantly from these fires.”

More than 30 fires are burning across NSW but the RFS hopes more favourable weather conditions will help them get the upper hand ahead of forecast weekend rain.

A number of residents were treated for minor burns and breathing difficulties, Rogers said on Wednesday morning.

‘Cyclonic’ firestorm

Buildings, including the town hall, were destroyed in what one witness described as “cyclonic” conditions.

Cameraman Matt Coble said he watched in horror as the Busbys Flat fire came towards him over a hill.



“The roar of it, the speed of it, was unbelievable - I couldn’t imagine the speed of the actual wind.”

Coble described the situation as “quite scary” and said birds dropped out of the sky in front of him.

A Rappville resident, Danny Smith, told reporters on the scene: “I’ve lost the bloody sheds, the house, lost everything. We might have saved the second place but everything else has gone.”

Also losing his home in the blaze was 83-year-old John Duncan. His daughter Carol has put together a GoFundMe page to help her father, who she says “lost everything except the clothes he was wearing”. By Wednesday morning the page had raised more than $8,870.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A firefighter in Ewingar in northern NSW. Photograph: Facebook/Nadine Gaffney

Carol Duncan said her father had left Canberra after “experiencing the devastating 2004 bushfires and not wanting to go through it again”.

She said firefighters had responded to a tweet asking for advice and went to the home to take him and his partner to safety. They had been sheltering in a shed at the back of the property.

“So, the RFS people who went and got my Dad and his partner OUT OF THE SHED thanks to Twitter ... saved my Dad’s life,” she said.

An evacuation centre has been set up at St Mary’s Catholic College in Casino for those who were forced to flee the Busbys Flat fire.

The cause of the fire is being probed, with investigators working to establish whether it was accidental or started deliberately, the deputy commissioner said.

Prime minister Scott Morrison said his thoughts were with those affected.

“For those communities around Casino (north of Rappville) it’s going to be a very tough day but know that Australians are with you,” Morrison told reporters in Sydney.

‘Fast and furious’ Queensland fire

Fire crews have all but extinguished a fast and furious blaze that destroyed one home in southeast Queensland.

The flames that ripped through Laidley, in the Lockyer Valley west of Brisbane, on Tuesday afternoon are out, but burnt-out logs are still smouldering. Firefighters are still busy with 24 fires still burning across the state.

Cooler temperatures are easing conditions but premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has warned people to make sure they are prepared for bushfires.

“The fire season will continue for many months,” Palaszczuk told reporters on Wednesday.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A burnt down house is seen in Laidley, southeast Queensland, on Wednesday. Photograph: Scott Davis/AAP

“Police are still doing their investigations but there is concern about one of the fires at this stage being deliberately lit,” said Palaszczuk. She did not say which one.

The Laidley inferno flared up with little warning on Tuesday, catching firefighters by surprise as they were busy attending a fire at nearby Thornton. The fire burned right up to the fence line in one subdivision.

One family’s home was destroyed, the fierce flames melting a boat and ute in the yard.

Lockyer Valley mayor Tanya Milligan was monitoring other fires in the region when she got a phone call asking if she knew the fire was in her street. She said she quickly arranged for her pets to be collected, and will return home on Wednesday morning to assess the damage.

“I’m guessing it will be full of soot and will be a bit of a mess and will stink,” she told ABC radio.

“It was fast and furious and somewhat hectic.”

She praised the efforts of emergency crews.

“We’re really blessed that we only had one loss of one home,” she said.

“It certainly could have been a lot worse.”

At the peak of the fire danger on Tuesday afternoon some 120 evacuees were registered at the Laidley evacuation centre. There was an outpouring of gratitude for the firefighters on the Lockyer Valley Regional Facebook page after they were told late on Tuesday it was safe to go home.

Fire crews are still battling the nearby blaze at Glen Rock, with some residents who were evacuated on Tuesday still unable to return home.

No properties have been damaged there.

