The Taree Show Society has opened its grounds to people who want to camp with their dogs and horses.
“We have put some 113 horses in stables and we have set up sites for people in caravans, trucks and tents,” said the society’s Rhonda Crisp.
“We have been feeding more than 100 people in our tea rooms every night with donated food. We have showers and toilets, if you are in trouble we are more than happy to help. Though of course people are very stressed and upset.”
Casey Miller from Old Bar has been living between a borrowed truck, horse float and car in the showgrounds with her friend, their four dogs and two horses for four days: “We are OK, it is just that we’ve had to adjust and put life on pause. We don’t know when we are going home. It is going to depend [on what] is coming with hot temperatures and bad winds, it all depends on that.”
Scores of people leaving farms and acreages are paying for accommodation in motels and hotels. Glennis Cochicho, who manages Taree’s Crescent Motel, turned away between 200 to 300 people at the weekend.
“The phone has been ringing off the hook,” she said. “I’ve had to repeatedly disappoint people who I know are stranded, and it’s an awful situation.”
Updated
From a correspondent, Christine Tondorf, in Taree:
There are queues at petrol stations, schools are closed and Mid-Coast council has suspended non-essential services as fires continue to burn in the region.
At the day’s start, there were no fires at emergency levels, but the Hillville Road fire, just south of Taree, is at a watch and act level. Tuesday’s forecast is 36C and the town is covered in a haze of smoke.
Many of the 100 evacuees sheltering at the local returned services club were able to check on their homes on Monday with the reopening of key roads, including the Pacific Highway.
Not all evacuees wanted to see their properties. Linda Ross, who lives at the Purfleet caravan park, has had word that her van is not damaged but she is fearful of going home ahead of the catastrophic conditions.
“I am now just so terribly, terribly tired and, if my van burns down, I’ll get another one.”
For people on farms and acreages, Monday was also the day for deciding – stay or go. Many women, children and pets (dogs and horses) moved into town, while men chose to stay and defend.
A woman from the Hillville area, who declined to be named, arrived at the Taree showground with her two horses. “My husband is still up at the house and is going to keep an eye on everything,” she said. “He will try to protect it, if the fire comes through. He’s just like a lot of other men there.”
Updated
