A pregnant widow has paid tribute to her husband who died alongside his father while trying to protect their property against raging bushfires.
Dairy farmer Patrick Salway, 29, and his father Robert, 63, died trying to defend their home from bushfires in Cobargo in the south east of New South Wales.
Mr Salway was expecting a second child with his pregnant wife Renee.
The devastated widow took to social media on Tuesday to tell her friends she was ‘broken’.
Patrick Salway (pictured with his wife Renee) was found by another family member after trying to tackle a bushfire attacking his family home
‘I love you now, I love you still, I always have and I always will,’ she wrote.
‘I will see you again Patrick, my best friend.
‘Hope you are up there “fixing things in the starts tonight”
‘Love forever, Harley and me.
‘Thank you everyone for your concern. We are broken.’
Ms Salway also shared an intimate photo of her late-husband with their son, Harley.
The bereaved widow took to social media on Tuesday and she is ‘broken’. ‘I love you now, I love you still, I always have and I always will,’ she wrote
Ms Salway also shared an intimate photo of her late-husband with their son, Harley (pictured)
Mr Salway and his father were described by devastated neighbours as ‘two salt of the earth blokes’ who died defending their home in Cobargo.
It is understood that their bodies were found by another family member early on Tuesday.
Mr Salway was expecting a second child with his pregnant wife Renee.
It comes as firefighters are bracing for some of the worst conditions yet, with fires spreading ‘faster and faster’ than experts thought possible.
Patrick Salway, 29, pictured with his pregnant wife Renee – died fighting the fires with his dad Robert Salway as they continued to ravage areas of NSW
Fires are also raging in Victoria, with thousands of holidaymakers and locals forced to flee the popular East Gippsland region (pictured) as blazes ripped through popular tourist areas leaving no escape by land
NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian confirmed the two men died in Cobargo, to the west of Bermagui on the state’s south coast where the Badja Forest Road fire was burning out of control on Tuesday.
‘A third person is missing with grave concerns for their safety, west of Narooma,’ Ms Berejiklian said.
‘Our message is please follow instructions. We know not only are locals impacted but in the entire south coast regions there are thousands of people who are holidaying or have been travelling.’
NSW fire commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons called it a ‘truly awful day’ as he warned of further devastation to family homes.
‘We need to brace our ourselves for a considerable number of properties, a considerable number of homes that are likely to have been damaged or destroyed,’ he said.
‘These fires have spread faster and further than the modelling and the fire weather predictions suggested they would.
‘It’s been a truly awful day.’
It comes as terrified holidaymakers were forced to flee Victoria’s East Gippsland (pictured) as fires raged on Tuesday
Patrick Salway (pictured with his wife Renee) was expecting a second child but died trying to protect his home from the bushfires which continue to ravage NSW
Patrick Salway (pictured) was a well-respected dairy farmer and was expecting his second child with his wife Renee before he died fighting a bushfire with his father Robert
Deputy Commissioner Gary Worboys said police gained access to the home west of Cobargo in the afternoon and found the two men, believed to be father and son.
‘That’s of course a tragedy for their family and friends and the greater community of Cobargo,’ he said.
‘We continue to try to make our way to a property, a house, that is west of Narooma, where unfortunately we think that the news there will not be good either with an elderly man in that location.’
‘They were really good guys, just some salt of the earth blokes. It’s sad, it is a bloody tragedy,’ Mr Allen told The Daily Telegraph.
‘Patrick was a really good, affable guy, he would always help everyone out when they needed it.
‘He loved his horses and showjumping, he played footy. It is really sad.
‘Robert was a really community-minded bloke. A great guy. It is terrible, horrific.”
‘It was like a warzone when the fire came through there were embers coming out of the sky, it was almost pitch black.’
Children cover their faces with cloth and take refuge on the sand at Lake Conjola on Tuesday
Chair of NSW Farmers Dairy Committee Colin Thompson said the father and son were well-known in the town.
‘They are multi-generational dairy farmers who are very well respected in the industry and in the town,’ he said.
‘Robert was a genuine, hard working, farmer who had survived drought and low milk prices. This is really going to devastate the dairy community in Bega.
‘Patrick was very highly regarded in the industry, he also leaves behind a young family. If there is anything we can do to help, we want to.’
A helicopter (pictured) fights a bushfire near Bairnsdale in Victoria’s East Gippsland region on Tuesday, as holidaymakers are forced to flee the popular area
Two men have died on Tuesday as horrific bushfires continue to tear through the New South Wales south coast. Pictured: Araluen Motor Lodge at Batemans Bay
NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian confirmed on Tuesday that two men died in Cobargo, to the west of Bermagui. Pictured: Bega
Thousands of holidaymakers and locals were forced to flee to beaches in fire-ravaged southeast Australia on New Year’s Eve as the blazes devastated East Gippsland (pictured)
The fires had affected the south coast’s main population centres from Batemans Bay down to Bega, with fire fighters hoping a cool change late in the day should aid efforts to contain the blazes.
As of Tuesday evening, there were more than 100 fires burning across the state with 60 uncontained and eight at the emergency alert level.
Large parts of the South Coast are expected to lose all forms of telecommunications in the coming hours.
The power outage will the area between Nowra and Moruya will mean locals and tourists will not have access to phone signal or the internet overnight.
Thick smoke is preventing an emergency airlift of burns victims and a premature baby at a care facility in the Bega Valley.
In Victoria, there were four people unaccounted for in the east Gippsland region to the east of Melbourne but there was good news in the afternoon as the Country Fire Authority said a wind change passed through and pushed the fire front away from the threatened town of Mallacoota.
Early on Tuesday, the sky in Mallacoota had been turned an eerie shade of black by choking smoke and then into a deep red as residents reported ‘hot embers’ falling from the sky and a deafening ‘roar’ as the flames approached.
Those trapped in the town after main road out had been closed were forced to gather on the beach and jetty where they watched anxiously as the fires closed in.
Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp said the state was still bracing for a ‘dynamic and dangerous fire situation’ into Tuesday evening.
Mr Crisp said there was ‘significant losses’ to property in the region, with 19 structures destroyed at Sarsfield and 24 in Buchan.
‘So it just reflects what we were saying earlier – our early advice is that we will see significant property losses across East Gippsland,’ he said.
Mr Crisp encouraged residents who were moving between areas to put their details on Red Cross’ Register.Find.Reunite. so family and friends could keep track of their movements.
‘We still have the Princes Highway closed. We still have communities that are isolated. We’re doing everything we can to get supplies down there to ensure that we can look after those people,’ he said.
‘If you’ve got no reason to be in East Gippsland, then please don’t go anywhere near East Gippsland.’
Pictured: A shop goes up in flames in Cobargo, to the west of Bermagui, on Tuesday
Residents heard gas bottles exploding as the fire edged closer to the town.
‘It was pitch black up until two minutes ago and now half the sky is red, embers are dropping out of the sky,’ resident Mark told ABC about 10am.
In New South Wales, where major fires had been burning for months, the major impact on Tuesday was on the south coast, with Cobargo being evacuated as multiple buildings on the main street caught fire.
Images posted to social media show Cobargo’s Main Street had been completely flattened by the fires (pictured)
Burning embers cover the ground as firefighters battle against bushfires around the town of Nowra on New South Wales’ south coast
In Mallacoota on New Year’s Eve morning, the sky turned an eerie shade of black before transforming into a deep red as residents reported ‘hot embers’ falling from the sky Pictured: Residents on the wharf about 10.30am
Images posted to social media showed buildings on Cobargo’s main street had been completely flattened by the fires with many historic structures believed to have been lost.
Mr Fitzsimmons confirmed dozens of homes and properties had been destroyed in Cobargo.
Meanwhile four homes have been destroyed two hours north at Catalina near Batemans Bay.
The RFS said significant damage had also been wrought in the towns of Fishermans Paradise, Broulee and Mogo – which is home to a popular zoo.
At Merimbula on the far south coast of the state, panic buying emptied shelves at the local Woolworths store – with a sole loaf remaining in the bread section.
At Merimbula on the far south coast of the state, panic buying emptied shelves at the local Woolworths store – with a sole loaf remaining in the bread section
In larger townships, residents were evacuated to the beach in Batemans Bay as the Clyde Mountain blaze closed in.
Traffic queues emerged as residents and holiday makers escaped the town where houses had reportedly been destroyed and embers were sparking new outbreaks.
Chilling images in both Batemans Bay and the Bega Valley Shire showed the sky turned a dark shade of orange as residents reported leaves were ‘falling like rain in town’.
‘Batemans Bay CBD has lost power and is pitch black at 12.20pm,’ one resident wrote on Twitter.
The fire threat was affecting much of the south coast, with the persistent 227,000-hectare Currowan blaze in the Shoalhaven, and those in Ulladulla and south of Nowra had been told it was too late to leave.
Shoalhaven Mayor Amanda Findley said as many as 300 people were sheltering at the Ulladulla Civic Centre.
Eerie photos show Batemans Bay residents surrounded by thick smoke as they wait on the beach. Many people can be seen wearing scarves to shield their faces
A firefighter in Sussex Inlet, 40km south of Nowra on the NSW South Coast, battles to protect a property on Tuesday
An RFS volunteer near the town of Sussex Inlet prepares to protect a home near Sussex Inlet as eight emergency level bushfires burned through NSW
The blaze, which has been burning for weeks, has now generated its own thunderstorm, causing dry lightning, spiralling smoke and rapid fire spread.
‘We’ve got a lot of people who are very anxious and concerned about what’s going on,’ Ms Findley told AAP on Tuesday.
‘The wind change has just hit and that is absolutely a concern.
‘The air quality here is OK but we can see smoke from other places – it’s like an armageddon smoke cloud to the north.’
Residents have evacuated to Batemans Bay Beach as firefighters desperately fought fires which turned the sky an eerie orange hue
Extreme fire danger was forecast for the Southern Ranges, Illawarra and ACT on New Year’s Eve while surrounding regions – including Sydney, the Hunter and the far south coast – are set for severe fire danger.
Total fire bans are in place for more than half of the state’s 21 fire districts.
Those bans had forced the cancellation of planned New Year’s Eve fireworks at many places across the state, but the main display on Sydney Harbour was cleared to proceed.
Pictured: Smoke covers the skies at Lake Conjola on Tuesday
Chilling images in both Batemans Bay show the sky a dark shade of orange as residents have reported leaves are ‘falling like rain in town’
Residents chose to remain in their homes to battle the fires as the vicious flames approached