RFS holds Windellama, Bungonia and Tallong community meetings

The Rural Fire Service has urged residents in the Windellama, Bungonia, Tallong and Marulan areas to be ready to act on their bushfire plans.

The RFS hosted a series of community meetings in three of these centres on Saturday. Another will be held at Marulan at 11am Sunday at the Community Hall. Police, Local Land Services, National Parks and Wildlife Service, SES and Goulburn MP Wendy Tuckerman also attended.

READ MORE: Currowan fire upgraded to watch and act as conditions worsened

It came as Windellama residents called for action on a mobile blackspot that they said hindered communications during emergencies.

RFS Southern Tablelands operations officer, Lachlan Gilchrist, said he wanted to be upfront with people about the fire situation. The Currowan blaze had merged with the Tianjara fire last Sunday. So far it has burnt more than 231,000 hectares.

"It is a mega-fire, which is very difficult to control. They are as much their own weather system as a fire system and traditional containment strategies are very difficut under these conditions," he said.

The blaze has not yet crossed the Shoalhaven River. Windellama residents were told the fire was 30km away but in erratic conditions, it could spot 10 and 20km ahead and move rapidly. The dense bushland and terrain around the river was making access difficult but water bombers were active on Saturday. In this "dangerous" terrain, the RFS would not be sending in crews.

Mr Gilchrist said the destruction of properties around Nerriga last weekend was a stark reminder of how quickly the fire could turn.

ALSO READ: Authorities begin assessing fire damage at Nerriga

Authorities are expecting very hot and "extreme" weather in coming days, with predominantly north-northwesterly winds. Predicted thunderstorms on Tuesday would bring little moisture but pose the additional threat of lightning strikes.

Mr Gilchrist said forecast south-easterly winds on Tuesday and Wednesday could start pushing the fire towards Windellama and beyond.

Current containment strategies are based around the fire escaping containment lines and rushing through bushland towards properties.

"The key message is if that strategy doesn't work, people have to be prepared," Mr Gilchrist said.

"We're not seeing a lot of it working because it is too dry and windy and there is too much fuel on the ground. It's spotting kilometres ahead and that's very concerning for us because new fires are cropping up.

"It's important to have a bushfire plan and leaving early is the most important thing."

ALSO READ: Crews called to fire on Oallen Ford Road

The meeting, which up to 260 people attended, heard that dozers and graders were building containment lines from Oallen Ford to Tallong and around Bungonia.

National Parks and Wildlife Service inspector Paul Madsen said these had to be in open country because containment around fire trails wasn't working in the current conditions. Crews were taking advantage of 'benign' weather to do this.

Mr Gilchrist reminded people that if the fire reached 'watch and act' status, it meant a 'heightened level of threat,' conditions were changeable and people needed to take action to protect themselves and their family.

Emergency warning is the highest level of fire alert. It means people may be in danger and need to take immediate action.

"It's really important that people identify a safe place to go," he said.

The Windellama Hall has been identified as 'Neighbourhood Safe Place' if people have no other options.

A list of evacuation centres is available at https://www.emergency.nsw.gov.au/ This will be updated according to the fire threat.

RFS Group Captain of zone 6, Graeme Welsh said if both the Currowan and Green Wattle Creek fires reached emergency level in coming days, Goulburn would likely be an evauation centre.

Goulburn Recreation Area is already a large animal evacuation centre for people wanting to shift stock. People with concerns about large and small animals should contact the agriculture and animal services hotline on 1800 814 647.

Mr Gilchrist said the RFS would also look at establishing an information point for the community at Windellama in coming days.

Several residents at the meeting feared they wouldn't receive an emergency warning text from the RFS due to a mobile blackspot in the area.

Irene Turner, who lives on Roberts Road, off Oallen Ford Road, said she couldn't get mobile coverage and her internet was currently down, due to her computer being hacked.

Nevertheless, people living between Windellama Hall and Sandy Point Road couldn't use their mobiles due to the blackspot.

"It's a big issue because sometimes the RFS texts you and tells you to leave but if there's no coverage, we can't use them," she said.

Mrs Turner and husband Lloyd have a bushfire plan in place. They have been packed and ready to go at anytime for several weeks.

Another resident asked Mrs Tuckerman to bring the blackspot to Hume MP Angus Taylor's attention.

ALSO READ: Grass fires closes Hume Highway near Yass

The RFS is advising people affected to listen to the ABC, which is the emergency broadcaster, or to contact the bushfire emergency information line on 1800 679 737. Mr Gilchrist said the RFS also generated calls to landlines.

He told the meeting he shared people's frustrations with the telecommunications.

Mr Gilchrist said he couldn't stress enough how important it was to stay off the roads when fire was threatening.

Currently, Oallen Ford Road, beyond Sandy Point Road, is only open to local traffic.

Hume Police District inspector, Keith Price said his officers would be guided by the RFS on road closures and would try to get as much information as possible out via media and on the District's Facebook page.

He urged people to discuss a meeting point well before in case family members were separated.

"Be patient with police and emergency services," he said.

"We've had incidents in the Southern Highlands that have ended horribly. If police stop you from going into a road, you're not going through. We won't risk your life, so don't fight and don't argue."

Inspector Price said police resources would be stretched in coming days with the Currowan and Green Wattle Fires.

Mr Gilchrist also urged people not to stay and defend their properties if they didn't have a bushfire plan in place.

"Firefighters are trying to protect you. They have families too," he said.

He thanked volunteers for their efforts, as did Mrs Tuckerman. Strike teams from Windellama and elsewhere in Southern Tablelands zone have been attending the Currowan and Green Wattle blazes.

Meantime, Clay Pit Road father and daughter, Elizabeth and Keith Roach, said they had been ready for two weeks to leave their property if fire threatened.

"We've been watching the ABC and looking at the Fires Near Me app two to three times each night," Mr Roach said.

The pair is concerned about their 40 chickens, cats and dogs.

Mr Gilchrist said about 220 people attended the Bungonia community meeting on Saturday afternoon.

"The message was the same," he said.

"We are not expecting containment to be successful and worsening conditions are forecast, so people should activate their bushfire plans."

Bungonia Progress Association president Bill Dobbie told The Post afterwards that the community was feeling "pretty apprehensive."

"Basically, the main message is they're (the RFS) not doing anything until it breaks out of the bush because it's not safe for their crews to go in," he said.

"They've told us it could break out near Bungonia or go further north around Tallong. A very long containment line is being built from (Inverary Road) across to South Marulan."

Mr Dobbie said it was unusual to have so much easterly wind at this time but he believed the fire would track north rather than towards the communities.

At Tallong, Mr Gilchrist said the RFS held two meetings because about 400 people attended and there was insufficient room to house them in one sitting.

The Marulan meeting has been moved to the town's community hall for the same reason.