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'It was horrific': Residents' fire nightmare

"I looked out my window and all I could see was flames”

Bora Ridge resident Clare Barry embraces Rural Fire Fighter Raelene Davis after Raelene and her daughter Chantelle helped save the property and horses. Picture: Marc Stapelberg
Bora Ridge resident Clare Barry embraces Rural Fire Fighter Raelene Davis after Raelene and her daughter Chantelle helped save the property and horses. Picture: Marc Stapelberg

RELIEF and sadness trail behind Bora Ridge's bushfire that has burnt 794 hectares and continues to blaze out of control.

Mary Pursey stood next to her paddock on Myall Creek Road and for the first time witnessed the devastating effects of the fire on her 96 acres.

Ms Pursey fought fires at her house down the road until early hours of the morning.

"I've been here since 1977 and I have never seen it like this before.

"Our house was under threat a couple of times, the biggest problem was the wind shifting.

"It was just horrific."

Thanks for the Rural Fire Service

Ms Pursey was able to move her cattle into safety before the fire approached and successful fought spot fires to save her home.

"All I saw was this smoke and I yelled out to my daughter to come and we rang triple 0 and we just got going."

"The flames were huge," she said.

Ms Pursey stopped defending her home at 2am but was woken again at 3.30am by the wind from another blaze down the road.

"I was woken up to what I thought was rain but it was just the wind that had changed and I looked out my window and all I could see where all these flames.

"We hopped into our gear as we went and raced out with 20 litres container of water in the ute, so we kept it at bay, the embers were flowing towards the house."

"There was another neighbour who was trying to do it on his own.

"There was a huge tree on fire and it was shooting the embers onto the house."

Directly opposite Ms Pursey's farm, Raelene Davis from NSW Rural Fire Service defended a couples home on Myall Rd with her Daughter Chantelle.

"She is always in the truck with me," Ms Davis said.

The mother and daughter duo who have been fighting fires for 13 and six years said they are 'pretty tired' after battling fires from 3.30pm yesterday until 1.30am this morning.

They were called out again at 3.30am to conduct property protection which stretched into the late afternoon.

"We arrived on this road and the fire front was coming from the west," Ms Davis said.

"There was smoke everywhere, our first instincts was to come into this property.

"We seen the horses down the back and we needed to get them into the front property for safety.

"Then rushed around the house to made sure it was fine."

"The boat was on fire so we put that out and kept putting out spot fires so that this property was safe."

"Rappville was pretty bad, this was close to it with the fire weather and the winds and the heat , the smoke, it came fast trough here."

Ms Pursey said fighting fires is a family affair with all her kids in the fire brigade.

"We're here for the community, it makes us feel good."

Original URL: https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/lismore/community/it-was-horrific-residents-fire-nightmare/news-story/d8035a874f2a77eecec6ce0609694099