Millionaire YouTuber Chloe Morello’s family home came within metres of burning down as raging bushfires ripped through the sleepy holiday town of Batemans Bay on the New South Wales south coast.
The Los Angeles-based beauty vlogger, who has over one million followers on Instagram, took to social media on Tuesday to tell her fans that the house she grew up in had been razed to the ground.
It wasn’t until later that afternoon when her family was allowed to inspect the damage that she discovered the home had been saved thanks to the actions of heroic neighbours armed with hoses.
Dramatic photos show how close the flames got to Ms Morello’s home, with the damage stopping just metres from the doorstep.
‘Fires burnt right up to our front porch. Others on our street lost everything. More bad conditions forecast for the week apparently? Hoping for some good news with the weather,’ she wrote on Twitter.
Batemans Bay remains cut off from the rest of NSW and thousands are still without power, but residents have been able to assess the damage to their properties.
Dramatic photos show how close the flames got to YouTube star Chloe Morello’s family home, with the damage stopping just metres from her doorstep
The yard surrounding the property is completely burnt out but still standing is the home in Batemans Bay
Chloe Morello (pictured) feared her home at been ‘lost’ in the New South Wales bushfires on Tuesday, but later discovered heroic neighbours had saved the property
‘Fires burnt right up to our front porch. Others on our street lost everything. More bad conditions forecast for the week apparently? Hoping for some good news with the weather,’ she wrote on Twitter
Properties destroyed by bushfire in the south coastal town of Batemans Bay after the fires ravaged the town on Tuesday
Ms Morello took to Twitter to lash out at Scott Morrison for his handling of the bushfire crisis, revealing residents and holiday makers were desperate for food and supplies.
‘The conditions for those stranded in Batemans Bay aren’t good,’ she wrote.
‘I spoke to my sister Ellie by phone when she went into town to try get food (all food in fridges have gone off) nothing left at Coles or Woolies but the lines are so long, extending out onto streets.
‘We need the NAVY from Jervis Bay to bring supplies by boat into the town. Babies need formula and people need food to eat. Stranded holidayers will not have a pantry supply like my family does.
‘If power and roads continue to be cut it will get worse and worse. There is a petrol shortage, food shortage, and people still cant let their families know what is going on. (My sister has power banks so she can charge her phone). Especially concerned for infants & elderly.’
According to the YouTuber, stores in the area are only accepting cash but there is no food left on shelves and the reception remains horrible so people cannot contact loved ones.
‘What will people do that require medical attention? It won’t be long before people become weak from lack of food and breathing conditions,’ she wrote.
‘My sister said we wont starve, but we will be on canned tomato for five days if the power and roads don’t open up. What about the people that were on holiday? Or people in retirement villages? We need supplies to Batemans Bay and other affected areas.’
Ms Morello shared pictures from Araluen Motor Lodge, her family’s business (pictured) which show the state of the town on Tuesday
While Ms Morello’s family home was saved, many other properties in the street have been completely flattened by the fires
The view from the family’s motel shows plumes of smoke infiltrate the sky (left)
On Tuesday, Ms Morello thought her family had lost everything when her mother and sister evacuated their house and escaped to their motel business.
She told her 153,000 followers that she believed her home had been completely ravaged by the fires.
‘Fire is on our street, I think we will say goodbye to our childhood home. Hoping for everyone’s safety this is very emotional,’ she tweeted.
Ms Morello said her mother and sister went to the Batemans Bay home to try and save sentimental items like photo albums, while her father was returning from Victoria.
‘My mum and sister may not even be safe here now,’ the beauty blogger said on Instagram.
‘People are fleeing into the water. Our home is most definitely gone.’
Ms Morello asked Twitter how to stay protected from smoke, amid fears her family could become trapped.
‘My family might have to run to the beach but it’s so smoky. They are at the family business right now but fire is getting closer, I’m petrified for them.’
Her sister Ellie said she was preparing to run to the beach with ‘wet towels around our faces’ as ‘nowhere is safe’.
While the fires have been easing up before worse conditions are expected Saturday, residents are able to assess the damages to their homes
Buildings and structures have been completely torn down and flattened in Batemans Bay
The entire community of Batemans Bay has been stripped after the catastrophic fires tore through the area on Tuesday
Speaking on her Instagram page on Tuesday, she said her mother and sister were helping vulnerable residents find shelter in their motel to escape from the suffocating smoke.
Ms Morello had earlier shared pictures from Araluen Motor Lodge, her family’s business.
‘View from our motel as the fires burn my hometown. So much of Batemans Bay on fire, if you’re in the area evacuate to a safe zone,’ she wrote.
‘There is a safe area across from our motel at Corrigans beach park (by bells carnival). Our home is burned but my family and pet bird are safe.’
Ms Morello’s sister Ellie said she was preparing to run to the beach (pictured: family’s motor lodge in Batemans Bay)
Ms Morello also retweeted a picture of the main street of Cobargo, north of Bega, burnt to the ground.
‘Historic Cobargo gone. This is absolutely devastating,’ she wrote.
Ms Morello said she was grateful she had been able to celebrate an ‘amazing’ Christmas in Batemans Bay.
But on Wednesday she announced the good news that it had been saved.
‘My mum just told me by text that apparently our neighbours saved our house!’ she wrote on her Instagram story.
‘I feel like I can’t be happy about this because everyone is still battling and people are in danger.’
‘Last we heard the entire street was on fire… this is bittersweet as I know homes on our street were definitely engulfed… because we evacuated we assumed ours too. Oh my god what a day,’ she tweeted.
The YouTube star also said that her neighbour’s house had been destroyed in the fires and her own wasn’t ‘out of danger yet’.
She is continuing to talk about the fires on social media and is urging people to donate to the RFS.
The beauty influencer grew up in New South Wales before moving to LA
Ms Morello said she was grateful she was able to celebrate an ‘amazing’ Christmas in her childhood home as she believed it had been destroyed by fires