Published: 17 December 2019
Last updated: 4 March 2024
Eyal Herzberg, 41, has borne the brunt of recent bushfires in NSW. He nearly lost his home – twice – and witnessed his local communities engulfed in flames as fires roared across the state’s mid-north coast during October and November.
“It’s devastating; the amount of area that’s burnt. There are pockets of untouched bush but otherwise it’s all burnt,” he says.
Israeli-born Herzberg, lives with his wife and three young children in the village of Hallidays Point around three hours north of Sydney. Their property is surrounded by four acres of bushland (about the size of the MCG).
Six weeks ago, a fire that started south near the township of Tuncurry changed direction. “The wind changed and then it came right for our street. We packed our car with all our important belongings and pets and spent the weekend with my wife’s family.
“At midnight we learnt from our neighbours that the fire was baring down on our home. My wife and I wrote it off – we didn't think that the house was defendable.
But at about 4am our neighbours let us know that the RFS (Rural Fire Service) had saved the house.” Fortunately, the family went unscathed. But they spent the next week putting out burning logs and root in the back yard.
We’re now under level 4 water restrictions. We’re running out of water on our property very quickly. It’s very daunting; this is the beginning of summer, not the end.
Two weeks later, however, a new inferno – this time from the north west – arrived to bare down on Hallidays Point. Herzberg’s wife and children escaped two hours south; leaving their husband and father behind to protect the house.
“For three days the fire came and went. It was stressful and exhausting – every night I slept in two-hour morsels,” Herzberg remembers. “I’d be waking up to catch the updates from emergency services, listening to radio scanners and trying to understand what’s going on.”
The fire was one of 17 simultaneously burning across the mid-north coast during early November. At the peak of the crises 100 homes were destroyed, four people died, and more than 30 others were injured.
Conditions eventually eased and as the threat to his home subsided, Herzberg drove inland where he joined a community-led firefighting campaign in the town of Elands.
“They only have one RFS truck and so the locals have setup their own service (known as the Black Swans) with 12 utes mounted with a 1000-litre water tanks on the back. “I joined them and this was the first time I got to experience a fire front up close, as we worked together with RFS and Forestry to defend containment lines.”
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With a hotter than average summer forecast ahead with dryer conditions, the signs are ominous. Herzberg, originally from the township of Yavne, 20k south of Jaffa, is worried.
“This is pretty insane. We’ve seen a few bushfires in this area last year but nothing like this. We’re now under level 4 water restrictions. We’re running out of water on our property very quickly. It’s very daunting; this is the beginning of summer, not the end.”
“We’d really like to see some action from our leadership,” he says. “Firstly, by funding and supporting the RFS to do what they have to do to stop these fires. But also, we need real action on climate change including a commitment to move to renewable energy sources.”
TWO HOURS NORTH in the lush, green township of Bellingen, unseasonably dry conditions have left Gull Herzberg (no relation) anxious.
In recent weeks fires loomed to the north, south and west of Bellingen. Although the closest has been 25 kilometres away, the township – surrounded by rainforests – has been preparing for the worst.
“The sense in the town is one of heightened sense of alert. There’s some caution and fear,” Herzberg says.
A local GP, he moved there 22-years-ago and has never known of bushfires in the area. “Not unreasonably, most of us think that rainforest doesn’t burn. It’s usually so wet and green. But even here it’s been getting crisp.”
Of greatest concern to Herzberg and locals is the damage done during recent fires in the Dorrigo Plateau area of the UNESCO-listed Gondwana rainforest. The extent of the land burnt was almost a thousand square kilometres – an area bigger than Singapore.
Ecologists have noted this part of Gondwana rainforest has remained largely unchanged for millions of years. It has not adapted to fire and cannot easily recover.
“As a community we’ve been badgering our local representatives for a long time. We’ve got to do something. But we know we can’t rely on state and federal government – we know we need to build from the ground up.”
In the meantime, the town watches the weather closely. A day of strong, hot winds could send the fires their way. “Now we’re keeping our fingers crossed and our eyes on it (the fire front).”
A combined emergency appeal by the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies (JBOD) and Stand Up has raised more than $500,000 in recent months, with all proceeds going to the Vinnies Bushfire Appeal.
To support the appeal, click here
To support the Black Swans firefighting campaign in Elands, click here
Photo: Black Swans volunteers fighting the fires at Lelands
