Tathra residents return home after huge bushfire destroyed town
Hundreds of people gathered anxiously in Bega Showground hall on Tuesday
Devastated Tathra residents have started returning to their homes after hundreds of properties were destroyed in horrific bushfires.
An awful bus ride awaited locals on Tuesday as they made their way back after a firestorm ravaged the New South Wales town on Sunday.
They were told before they arrived whether their home had been destroyed, damaged or unaffected.
Fears of asbestos being released by the fire were allayed after tests revealed there were no particles in the atmosphere, the fire service said.
Devastated Tathra residents have started returning to their homes destroyed in horrific bushfires
Emotional residents Ingrid Mitchell (right) and Deb Nave (left) outside the burnt out remains of their home
Residents were evacuated to Bega during the bushfire, those who lost houses were brought in by bus this morning to see for the first time the devastation
They were told before they arrived whether their home had been destroyed, damaged or unaffected
The first buses left for Tathra at around 10am with many getting the first glimpse of the carnage that used to be their homes.
Some homes looked as though they had been ripped apart by an earthquake while others remained as empty charred shells.
Ingrid Mitchell and Deb Nave were among the first to arrive back to inspect the damage at their burnt out home.
Greg McKay, who owns and runs the BIG4 Holiday Park, has lived in Tathra for more than 20 years.
Some homes looked as though they had been ripped apart by an earthquake while others remained as empty charred shells
Ingrid Mitchell goes through the wreckage of her home in a bid to salvage anything left
The first buses left for Tathra at around 10am with many getting the first glimpse of the carnage
It was an anxious wait for hundreds as they were taken back to Tathra for the first time on Tuesday
The devastation was caused by a bushfire as it destroyed more than 70 homes and businesses
But fortunately there have been no casualties despite the total carnage caused in the fires
In total, 69 properties are completely destroyed while a further 39 have sustained significant damage
He has lost everything in the fires which has affected almost 100 properties.
'It's just property, we can get a bulldozer in here and knock all this over and we can rebuild,' Mr McKay told Ten News.
'I haven't heard of anyone in the town that's been burnt or hurt. It's amazing considering the amount of smoke.'
The fire spread rapidly throughout Sunday afternoon helped by dry winds and high temperatures.
Some residents were more fortunate and said the community would recover together.
'It's just heart-wrenching. Floods you've still got a house. Fires you've got nothing,' resident Ray Coates told reporters
In total, 69 properties are completely destroyed while a further 39 have sustained significant damage.
But other residents were more fortunate and said the community would recover together.
'I was lucky,' Ray Coates told reporters on Tuesday. 'I could just see mine at the back and the roof was standing, so somebody was with me.
'It's just heart-wrenching. Floods you've still got a house. Fires you've got nothing.'
Cooler weather on Monday night allowed fire crews to carry out further backburn operations
Ingrid Mitchell (right) and Deb Nave (left) were in tears as they arrived home and started looking through their property
The fire spread rapidly throughout Sunday afternoon helped by dry winds and high temperatures.
Hundreds of people gathered anxiously in the Bega Showgrounds hall on Tuesday morning as the Rural Fire Service gave the latest update.
Alison Westblade said: 'I'm a wreck. I'll be okay but the young couple with mortgages and no insurance, well it's awful.'
The nerves were too much for some to bear as the fire service provided the latest update
Hundreds of people gathered Bega Showgrounds hall on Tuesday morning as firefighters revealed there had been no asbestos released
The latest inspections found no asbestos in the atmosphere as cooler weather on Monday night allowed fire crews to carry out further backburn operations.
But more remote properties may not be tested for another week.
Firefighters have now managed to put in containment lines around the 1,200-hectare blaze.
Opposition leader Bill Shorten visited the town on Tuesday but said it was not the time for a 'blame game'
Opposition leader Bill Shorten visited the town on Tuesday, saying: 'It's a miracle there was no loss of life.'
He added it was not the time to carry out a 'blame game' over mobile phone towers and land clearing.
Mr Shorten's visit followed Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's arrival in the Bega Valley on Monday.