The roads to Tingha have reopened, and residents evacuated to Guyra and Inverell returned home on Saturday afternoon.
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Family and Community Services (FaCS)’ Colin Lynch had only praise for how those towns rallied round their neighbours.
“Guyra and Inverell were two of the best evacuation centres that I’ve been to, because the communities get behind everyone,” he said. “That makes all the difference.”
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More than 100 Tingharians sought refuge at the Guyra showground from Wednesday.
“They were very mature, and thankful they were still alive, mostly,” Mr Lynch said. “It could have been a lot worse, as we’ve seen in Victoria and other places.”
Guyra locals were on hand as soon as they arrived. They talked to them, cooked meals, and brought games, magazines, and a DVD player.
“They’ve been through hell,” volunteer Tarsha Baker said. “We wanted to make them feel comfortable and safe.”
The Guyra volunteers, Mr Lynch said, did a fantastic job of looking after the evacuees.
“The stuff that we usually have to watch out for and attend to if anyone’s quite distressed, the community picked up before we even got near it.”
On Facebook, Ms Baker thanked everyone who helped out with the Tingha evacuation, and the generous Guyra community.
Working with the staff from FaCS and NSW Welfare Services, and Norm Archer, Ted, and Colin from the Salvation Army, FaCS’ official disaster partners, was a pleasure, she said.
Tingha residents went back to their town, escorted by Ms Baker and Hub co-ordinator Chris Hietbrink.
Now the recovery phase begins, Mr Lynch said. A recovery assistance point has been set up at the Tingha Sports and Recreation Club, while a government team is assessing the damage, and determining what level of disaster funding Tingha will be eligible for.
Guyra will continue helping Tingha. The Hub, open Tuesdays to Fridays, is accepting small items. Mrs Hietbrink said the community had been very generous with donations of every kind. Phone 0411 807 046.
The community's resilience was typical of country people, Mrs Hietbrink said. "They all band together, because so many of them belong to organisations like the VRA and the RFS. They're used to looking after others."
The Rural Fire Service, Mr Lynch said, had been “gobsmacking”. They had saved Tingha and Gilgai, and small communities like Drake near Tabulum.
The small fire at Copeton Dam, which had burnt for a fortnight, had suddenly taken off on Wednesday, travelling with unexpected speed and ferocity.
To muster resources in 12 hours was unbelievable, Mr Lynch thought.
“The RFS deserve a real pat on the back for this one. They really did a good job.”