Tuntable CoOp community resident Teresa Biscoe (aka Biskit) has already returned to her home after the recent Mount Nardi bushfire caused her and her family to flee.

She is one of the many Nimbin residents affected by the bushfire in the heritage listed Nightcap National Park, which is now at a watch and act advice level.

Teresa said Lismore City Council and the Rural Fire Service issued a directive stating residents could return home.

“But we are now still doing spot fire patrols on affected hamlets and maintaining communications and striker rosters so we can handle any fires that cross the containment lines,” she said.

“Falling trees still pose a significant hazard and we are doing an ongoing assessment.”

The Tuntable community is the largest community in the Nimbin area, with 137 homes on the property.

Thankfully, only two buildings were lost, but the community’s water infrastructure pipelines were damaged.

“It will be a huge job to replace,” Teresa said.

Pictured: Charlie Cohen from Nimbin Rural Fire Service was one of the tireless workers who was instrumental in coordinating the fire fighting efforts.

"And it was the amazing and heroic effort by the young men and women in Nimbin, the wider community and the RFS that saved so many homes.

“At the moment, we are researching where we can get external financial support and we have a Tuntable / Nightcap Fire Nov 2019 gofundme page set up to seek assistance from the wider community."

Click here to donate: https://www.gofundme.com/f/tuntable-nightcap-fire-nov-2019?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet

Teresa said the community's treasurer is looking into the community's finances, but their budget is limited.

“We have decided to allocate payments to key people involved in the management and organisation of the emergency response," she said.

“These people took time off work time off work and we want to allocate funds to them so they can document the organisation they did.

“We organised quite well and that’s why we saved so many homes.

“The people who worked with us were experienced and trained enough to work with the RFS and go into places the RFS was not able to access due to their protocols.”

Max Pike, another Nimbin local who was instrumental in coordinating the fire fighting effort said the best tool in a home defender’s arsenal is a leaf blower.

“They can cut control lines back to bare earth and can also be used to fight fires," he said in a Facebook post. "I highly recommend a petrol model as in a fire you may lose power and not be able to recharge batteries. Plus, you can use them to clear your gutters."

Generosity

Teresa said she was also involved with the local Country Women’s Association (CWA) which worked with the local firies and RFS to provide food and help where it was need through the emergency.

“The CWA in Lismore was awesome – their compassion was incredible and the wider community has been so generous throughout this emergency,” she said. 

“The generosity in Lismore and all over was overwhelming. We received so many boxes of food and things donated to us.

“Bunnings donated fire equipment and the Thai shop at the university provided all the meals to the RFS one night.

“All of us will be making a list of all groups who provided assistance and we want to thank Casino RFS central control for the incredible support we were given.

“This is indicative of what communities in this region are capable of when we work together.”

Coordination and sharing information

Nimbin’s overall fire emergency coordinator Diana Roberts said her job was scaled back now.

“Most of the people in communities affected by the fires have gone home now - with one exception on Siddah Farm where they still need to bring trees down,” she said.

“The evacuation centre at Nimbin Showground may close tonight once the last few people go home.

“Now, I’m sharing information as much as possible and following up on requests from people not resourced to it.

“The ongoing message from the Rural Fire Service (RFS) is to be vigilant.

 “I’m also talking to Lismore City Council who want to support us in disposing of waste generated by the fire, but as a community we don’t have a lot of that.”

Pictured: Protestors Falls. Teri Nicholson reported on Facebook that some parts of the Protestors Falls area remain unaffected by fire.

Diana said she stepped up as coordinator on the Wednesday after the fires started after being approached by locals to take the job on after “a frantic Tuesday”.

“It would have been good to have that central coordination in place at the beginning, but it’s a good lesson for us that we are now sharing with the Uki community in response to their fire emergency.

“It should be a small group of people with access to all different lines of communications and networks, because the people on the ground are so busy.

“The people in Tuntable are already documenting everything into a plan for working on disaster relief.

“This is the way forward for all communities in the future.

“We think we’ve learned a lot and we can bring that plan to fruition in floods or fires, or whatever disaster comes, so we are better organised.

“Our organisation says a lot about the strength of our community.”

Diana said one of the things that could have been done better was how to share information with people who don’t use social media. 

“Our reception out here is so dicey, so the internet is not a great option.

“We used to use CBs, but a having a mobile phone and a phone network is important. 

“At Tuntable, they have a warning siren. The community is as big as Nimbin and they have a school and a shop and a fire brigade. 

“Other communities can learn from that too.”

Diana said the amount of support that was still being offered to people who had helped out was huge.

“We had people offering massages to the firies,” she said. “There are government support services and counselling activities with children who are traumatised.

“Everybody is exhausted. It’s emotional exhaustion rather than physical and its testimony to our strong resilient community that we’ve pulled through.”