NSW Farmers will send a letter to the NSW Coroner to establish a coronial inquiry to seek answers to the many questions arising from the devastating Sir Ivan bushfire earlier this year.
A bid to get the State Government to support the move has not yet happened, so NSW Farmers will send a letter urging the NSW Coroner to open a coronial inquiry
Farmers president Derek Schoen said the letter would be sent to the coroner and said there were many issues that needed addressing, including communications, the use of local knowledge and the use of local resources in fighting fires.
“We feel there needs to be some answers but we are not approaching it in an accusatory manner,” he said.
There were 35 homes destroyed in the fire, another 11 homes were damaged, a church and a community hall both destroyed.
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There were 131 outbuildings also destroyed and another 42 damaged.
Stock losses were also great with the NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) reporting approximately 5056 livestock and animals confirmed deceased or destroyed, with sheep the highest impacted.
Many locals from the area complained they were not able to fight fires because of regulations, while catastrophic conditions forced Rural Fire Service personnel to evacuate certain areas. The fire was so severe it created its own atmospheric cloud.
Fundraisers, hay and cattle drives were organised to help affected farmers and townsfolk, many of whom are still struggling to get back on their feet. A Farmers Association charity drive raised $1m to help farmers through a cattle feedlot.
Meanwhile, the current fire season started dramatically in the first week of spring with grass fires and bushfires burning up and down the coast.
High temperatures and winds set off more than 100 fires across the eastern half of the state in extreme conditions for the start of spring - a warning for a tough fire season ahead.
Last Thursday morning, there were still 86 bush and grass fires burning in NSW, with 30 not fully contained.
One of the biggest blazes was at Woodlands, south of Batemans Bay, with several houses evacuated as flames reached up to 15m. Other major blazes were recorded near Tuncurry, with 1700ha burnt, and at Richmond Vale in the Hunter. Smaller blazes broke out in the western side of the divide at Warren, in the Warrumbungles and on Mt Kaputar.
The Rural Fire Service warned off a tough fire season ahead with much of NSW tinder dry from little rain in the last three months.
The RFS brought the fire season forward in many districts of NSW to this month, from October.