Lansdowne, north of Taree, ravaged by NSW fires
The ground is black and unrecognisable to Garry May from the small village of Lansdowne, just outside of Taree, as fire destroys 20 homes.
Newcastle
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Garry May sits on the rim of his newly pimped tractor, now burnt down to a skeleton.
He got about two hours work out of the new slasher, gearbox and engine, he recently installed.
Mr May returned to his Rainbow Flat home today, saying “it looks like a different planet”.
“The ground is absolutely black,” he said.
“The chicken den is gone, fences are gone. It’s a general mess. There are bits of burning wood on the grass.”
And it’ll be much harder to clean up this “mess” without a tractor.
“I’m back on the paddock but I’ve got no tractor to do these clean ups,” Mr May said.
Although his paddock burnt to smithereens, he repeats the words “it would be worse, we’re very lucky” a few times.
“The fire’s come within an inch of the house … It’s pretty horrific,” he said.
As he and his family waited in the village of Lansdowne, just outside of Taree, Mr May said they had no idea what awaited them.
“Didn’t have a clue. We heard 20 houses burnt down, and we thought it was our house,” he said.
Mr May said there’s no choice as to what the fire eats up and what it leaves behind.
“We had one car parked on the grass. The fire went around it, went under it, didn’t burn it,” he said, but the tractor is cooked.