12-04-2023
Thirty landholders who had been impacted by the recent Craigs Rd fire at Curraweela attended a Bushfire Recovery Community Information Session at Taralga on Tuesday 4 April.
The attendees met with around a dozen representatives of various agencies and Upper Lachlan Shire Council to discuss their concerns and queries and to find pertinent information to assist in their recovery.
Acting Council General Manager Alex Waldron described the meeting as very productive as many questions were answered, and follow up actions were put in motion.
“After such a traumatic and destructive event, people were understandably concerned about what services were available to them and where to from here,” she said.
“Affected landholders were able to speak with agency representatives and Council and get practical advice one what to do next, who to contact and what assistance was available.
“From Council’s point of view, for instance, the question was asked what people could do with bulky waste that had resulted from the bushfire. In many cases they have to wait until the insurance companies have finished their assessment before it can be removed. In response to this, Council has set up a register for affected landholders to enable free access to the Taralga Waste Facility to dispose of these items free of charge. Affected landholders simply need to drop into one of our offices, call or email Council to be added to the register.”
Services in attendance included NSW Reconstruction Authority, NSW Local Land Services, Rural Financial Counselling Service, Rural Adversity Mental Health Program, NSW RFS, NSW Police, Red Cross and Upper Lachlan Shire Council.
Attendees were provided with some of the specific details of the fire:
- Total hectares burnt: 4437
- Houses lost: 1
- Outbuildings and shed lost: 17
- Fences destroyed: 85 km
- Houses with minor damage: 3
- Houses saved: 45
Taralga RFS Brigade captain John Sullivan explained how, in the early stages of the fire with winds between 45 and 60 knots, the best fire-fighters could do was to try and steer the fire around and away from properties.
NSW Police Inspector Matt Hinton advised that the cause of the fire is believed to have been a vehicle driving through long grass. He detailed the role of NSW Police in the management of the emergency and praised the community for providing accommodation and food for emergency services so promptly.
Aaron Smith from Local land Services spoke about the management of livestock during the fire, Kerry Connor from Rural Financial Counselling provided information about access to financial assistance, and Judy Carmody from Rural Adversity Mental Health Program spoke about counselling and other related services available.
Ms Waldron said the meeting was informative to both landholders and to the agencies involved.
“Disaster events are all different, and the people affected are often experiencing something like this for the first time. There are learnings for all of us, including the agencies and Council,” she said.
“I’d like to thank everyone for participating in a very constructive manner. But we realise the meeting was not the end of the conversation and urge anyone who still has any questions or concerns, whether they attended the meeting or not, to continue to contact Council and the relevant agencies as needed.”
The meeting was chaired by Heidi Stratford from NSW Reconstruction Authority at the Taralga War Memorial Hall. Members of NSW Reconstruction Authority and Council operated a free BBQ, with locally sourced food, as well as teas and coffees before and after the session.
Contact details for relevant agencies:
Rural Adversity Mental Health Program
Judy Carmody – 0417 131 301
NSW Local Land Services:
1300 795 299
Rural Financial Counselling Service
Kerry Connor – 0436 125 299
Upper Lachlan Shire Council
4830 1000
NSW Rural Fire Service
Yass Fire Control Centre – 6226 3100
Lifeline
13 11 44