Mid-Coast Council Mayor David West says people's lives remain in disarray a month on from the worst fire he's encountered in the region.
Cr West said there had been plenty of assistance on the ground during the fires and in their immediate aftermath, but since then resources for those who lost their homes had been lacking."What happens after they're gone? Where's the counselling? It falls to the State Government and the Office of Emergency Management.
But Kim McDonald, vice-president of the Bobin Community Hall north-west of Taree, said despite power being restored quickly, people in her area were still isolated. "Believe it or not, it's nearly five weeks later [and] we still don't have landlines," she said."We have no mobile reception in Bobin."Gwenda and Keith Duncan are two people who will not get to spend Christmas at home this year.
Their home was swallowed by a fire that tore through their small community of Rainbow Flat, 20 kilometres south of Taree, last month.
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