Every phone buzzed in Nimbin Town Hall at the same time as the automated NSW RFS emergency bushfire warning to evacuate the Tuntable area was delivered to a crowd of hundreds this afternoon.

In the hall, concerned Nimbin residents were attending a community meeting to receive updated information about the bushfire on Mount Nardi and the Nightcap National Park.

Some were wearing face masks to protect them from the smoke and ashes in the air, and some had already evacuated from Tuntable Creek in the previous days.

Read stories from Tuntable community residents Sarah Lonie, Nerelle Draisma, Drew Aird and Maggie Bourne as they evacuated; what the options are for where to go with your family and animals if you evacuate; what's needed in the way of supplies; and the link to the webcam on upper Tuntable Falls Road. Nimbin residents flee as "the wettest rainforest in Northern NSW is burning"

NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) superintendent Brian Daley addressed the crowd and said the fire had escalated to a ‘Watch and Act’ level. 

“We are in uncharted territory here.” Supt Daley said. 

“Fires across NSW have already taken hundreds of homes and people have lost their lives”.

Supt Daley said he believed the fire could have started from a lightning strike in the area on October 8, which may have reignited. 

“It’s now out of control,” he said. “We are on emergency warning level five now. 

“Over 2200 hectares are on fire.

“It’s burning in wet forest areas where fire normally doesn’t go.”

Infrastructure concerns 

Supt Daley said fire crews were currently fighting to protect telecommunications and power infrastructure in the Tuntable and Terania Creek areas. 

“We have significant infrastructure concerns about the tower on Mount Nardi,” he said.

“We have tankers with pumps doing protective work around the tower.

“If the infrastructure is affected by fire we could lose power and communications to a lot of areas.

“Then we would have no pressure pumps to fight fires under those conditions.

“We can’t have the fire trucks at every house - we don’t have enough appliances. If your property is not able to be protected, you need to decide to stay or leave.

“We’ve seen what happened in Black Friday – if people leave it too late to get out and get trapped in their cars.

“Heat and ember attack will be a problem too.”

He urged people to leave the area and find emergency accommodation with friends and family, or go to the designated evacuation area at Nimbin showgrounds.

"As bad as it gets"

Supt Daley gave a projected weather forecast and said next Tuesday “will be as bad as it gets”.

“The temperature will be 35 degrees with a wind blowing N/NW at 27-30km/hr which will push the fire to the east towards the coastal areas. 

“Next Saturday, the temperature is expected to be 36.

“We have no respite, no cool overnight temperature, no rain and the humidity is low.

“The fires will burn overnight. Normally we would have containment lines already in place, but that is not the case here.

“If the wind picks up, it will blow the fire over the containment lines.

He said the fire had already travelled down the western side of the mountain, against RFS predictions.

“Coming back under an easterly wind, it could easily wind into Terania Creek.”

SES says 'register'

State Emergency Service (SES) unit commander John Ludlow said the SES were on site to work together with the RFS to deliver logistics through the evacuations. 

“If you leave your home to stay somewhere else, register with the evacuation centre before you leave Nimbin town, so we know where everyone is,” he said.

“We are getting phone calls from people who are concerned about the location of their loved ones.”

Fire retardants 

Local MP Janelle Saffin addressed the crowd and said she had been approached by locals concerned about the use of fire retardants which had been dropped from the sky into the area.

“The fire retardants are safe and contain no nasties,” she said.

“People have also been asking me why the army isn’t here. 

“They are not trained firefighters, but I have brought it up for consideration with the State and Federal Government.”

What to do

Nimbin Rural Fire Brigade deputy captain Marcus Montscheff said people who had the opportunity to be billeted out at someone else’s house should do so.

“Get your basics, your pets, your passport and photos and get out to a safe place,” he said.

One of the residents asked if Gungas Road would be safe from the fire and Dep Capt Montscheff said that while it was not an immediate threat, “you can’t tell how soon until it might get there”.

“It’s unpredictable,” he said. “If the fire is on a road below your place, your chance to escape may be gone.

“Leave early and be safe.”

“I know you look out at the urban bush interface around you and you see a big pile of kindling.

“Embers can fly hundreds of metres or even kilometres in the wind.

He said the fire was changing its path constantly due to wind changes, and that everyone should keep up to date with what was happening though the RFS Fires near me app or website.

Help available

Locals asked if there would be any change in the amount of help available to contain the fire.

NSW RFS Supt Daley said when it came to fire fighting resources, the areas in greatest threat, such as in the Sydney area would potentially get the use of the appliances.

“We might lose some of our planes and tanker assets to the Sydney basin, but we have bulldozers and fire crews here.

“We are also getting 29 volunteer fire fighters from the Sydney area tomorrow who will fight on our crews.”

Ellie McWilliam, from Lismore City Council led the community meeting and said she had been working in disaster recovery preparedness.

“Each person in a bushfire needed to be autonomous, independent and manage themselves, to have a survival plan, talk to family members and leave early,” she said.

“I live on Wallace Road. I felt relief when I left yesterday. 

“When the warning comes to evacuate – do it.”

Accommodation, evacuation and registering

Evacuees can register in person at Nimbin Showgrounds, or via the Red Cross website Register.Find.Reunite https://register.redcross.org.au/

Camping accommodation is available at Nimbin and Lismore Showgrounds.

Lismore showgrounds are available to shelter people’s animals, including livestock.

Nimbin showgrounds have places for cats, dogs and people.

If you want to keep up with the latest information about the bushfire emergency, the Facebook page Nimbin Hook Ups will be one of the ways information will be given to the community.

Schools closed

Local schools are closed for the next two days. Parents are urged to keep their children at home as there will be no supervision at the schools. 

Schools include: Nimbin Central, Coffee Camp, Tuntable Falls, Tuntable Creek, Whian Whian, Terania Creek, Barkersvale, Rainbow Ridge, Steiner School and The Channon Public School.