Most of the small community of Uarbry has been wiped out by a bushfire burning near Dunedoo, residents say, as the New South Wales Rural Fire Service (RFS) continues to battle blazes across the state.
Residents told the ABC nine of the dozen or so homes in the community were destroyed when the Sir Ivan fire bore down on them yesterday.
Paul Devonian was supplying bulk water to fire crews on the ground and said the conditions were the worst he had seen in 25 years of fighting fires.
“You couldn’t walk forward, it’d near blow you backwards, the wind,” he said.
Cassilis farmer Tony Hegarty said news of property losses near Uarbry was starting to filter through.
He said there were also reports of extensive stock losses.
“I think dealing with the dead stock or the damaged stock is in the first instance is the real heartache,” Mr Hegarty said.
“I remember a farmer who got burnt out many years ago, he just said it took 10 years for the business to recover. That’s the sort of issue we’ll be dealing with I guess”.
The RFS will send an expert team into fire-ravaged areas today to help determine property and livestock losses.
It has also received reports that homes have been destroyed in a fire that is burning west of Port Macquarie on the NSW mid-north coast.
That grassfire, which has so far burnt through 700 hectares, is burning out of control in Pappinbarra.
RFS spokesman Cam Baker said crews were also heading to the area to determine the extent of the damage.
Record heat fanned the flames
Several NSW towns recorded new record temperatures on Sunday.
The mercury in Walgett, near the Queensland boarder, reached 47.9 degrees Celsius yesterday while Taree (45.7C), Port Macquarie (46.5C) and Kempsie (46.4) also set new benchmarks.
Firefighters were not helped by firebugs, authorities said.
A man, 40, was charged after allegedly lighting a bushfire at Mangrove Creek, on the Central Coast today. He was refused bail.
Further north, a 32-year-old man was arrested and after two deliberately lit fires were started at the Dargavilles Road area at Nabiac.
NSW RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons addressed reports of arson throughout the state and said deliberately lighting fires was a “heinous act”.
“How dare they, how dare you. It’s a criminal act, it’s a dangerous act,” he said.
“You put the lives at risk of our firefighters, the vast majority of whom are out there doing it for free, simply to make a difference and protect their local community.”
This post originally appeared on ABC News.
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