A desperate search is underway for a couple missing after their home and car were destroyed by bushfires raging through northern NSW.
The couple were last seen at their home in Coongbar before the deliberately lit fire reduced it to a pile of rubble on Tuesday.
Police and Rural Fire Service are sifting through the ruins for clues and serious concerns are held for their welfare.
A desperate search is underway for a couple missing after their home was destroyed by bushfires raging through northern NSW
Liam McKenzie inspects the remains of his house which was destroyed by bushfires in Rappville, NSW, along with 20 others
Superintendent Toby Lindsay said police were worried about the two missing people after the fire destroyed 21 homes in the area.
‘We always hope for the best but we’ve obviously got to treat it at its worst. We’ve seen the devastation in town. It’s a very large fire and it’s still active,’ he said.
Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said police and firefighters were working with the family and local community to find the missing couple.
‘We had 13 to 15 people unaccounted for yesterday. We’re down to two people at the moment,’ he said.
‘Obviously we have concerns for their welfare, but we’re still working through a process to identify where they might be.’
Superintendent Toby Lindsay said police were worried about the two missing people after the fire destroyed 21 homes in the area
Teams are still assessing how many properties have been lost or damaged in the suspicious blaze which is believed to have started in the Busbys Flat area on Friday night
Richmond Valley mayor Robert Mustow on Thursday morning confirmed a handful of people were still unaccounted for.
‘We have still got some people missing and the longer that goes on the more concerning it gets,’ he told the ABC.
‘I would ask people, if you’ve vacated your property, please go down to the evacuation centre (and) register.’
The mayor said the loss of a local timber mill would hurt 30 employees and have a ‘big impact on our community’.
Police are hunting for whoever may have deliberately the fire in what NSW Emergency Services Minister David Elliott described as a ‘bastard act’.
Commissioner Fitzsimmons said in the absence of any other obvious cause the blaze was being treated as suspicious.
‘We’ve got to call it out – it’s a heinous crime, a criminal act,’ he told the 9 News.
Police are hunting for whoever may have deliberately the fire in what NSW Emergency Services Minister David Elliott described as a ‘bastard act’
RFS Commissioner Fitzsimmons said in the absence of any other obvious cause the blaze was being treated as suspicious
Teams are still assessing how many properties have been lost or damaged in the suspicious blaze which is believed to have started in the Busbys Flat area on Friday night
Strikeforce Cleander has been formed to investigate the cause of the fire.
NSW Police district commander Superintendent Toby Lindsay said the strike force ‘will leave no stone unturned so we can provide answers for the rural communities impacted by this disaster’.
Teams are still assessing how many properties have been lost or damaged in the suspicious blaze which is believed to have started in the Busbys Flat area on Friday night.
Across the Busbys Flat and Drake fires – which have joined together in recent days and burned 115,000 hectares – at least 21 homes have been destroyed.
Fifteen were in the Rappville area while the remainder were impacted by the Drake blaze.
Mr Fitzsimmons said 34 bushfires continue to burn across NSW, eight of which remain out of control.
However, all fires are currently at the lower ‘advice’ alert level after a number of emergency warnings were downgraded on Wednesday.
Allan Robertson lost his Rappville home and was left with the clothes he was wearing, his phone and ‘my worst thongs’.
Across the Busbys Flat and Drake fires – which have joined together in recent days and burned 115,000 hectares – at least 21 homes have been destroyed
All fires are currently at the lower ‘advice’ alert level after a number of emergency warnings were downgraded on Wednesday
He said he was uninsured and his partner was in palliative care.
‘It was just like a massive fireball. There was nothing you could do. The heat was horrendous,’ he told 10 News on Wednesday.
The NSW RFS said a number of residents were treated for minor burns and breathing difficulties.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Thursday said the federal government will provide ‘whatever assistance is necessary’.
The Brisbane to Sydney rail line has been cut and won’t be operational again for an estimated five days.
NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance tweeted that stretches of the rail line had been damaged and the Rappville rail bridge destroyed.
The RFS said residents likely won’t be able to return home for a number of days given trees are down across roads and power lines are on the ground.
The fire service also warned that even though better conditions are forecast for Thursday blazes could flare again.