The bushland between Batemans Bay and Ulladulla is a beautiful weekend playground for many Eurobodalla and Shoalhaven residents.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
To others, it's simply home.
However, the rugged and isolated nature of the region - with many properties only accessible by dirt tracks - means fires that break out in the bush are difficult to control.
At least eight other fires have broken out in the area over the past decade. Two of those cost the lives of men committed to fighting them.
If you can recall any other fires in the region, please email zoe.cartwright@austcommunitymedia.com.au
2009:
Bushfires burned near Termeil, Lake Tabourie and Burrill Lake in 2009.
October 2013:
Forty-three-year-old pilot David Black from Trangie in Central NSW was killed fighting a blaze west of Ulladulla.
Mr Black was undertaking fire suppression work on the fire which has been burning in rugged bushland 30 kilometres west of Ulladulla for 10 days, when his aircraft crashed in the vicinity of the Wirritin Mountain.
The crash resulted in another fire, which an RFS-employed aircraft also responded to.
2017:
A blaze was reported at 8.45am on September 20 and was located in bush land off Runnyford Road, about 1km west of the cemetery.
This latest fire comes just three weeks after a blaze threatened properties in the same area.
2018:
August: The Kingiman Road fire burnt through more than 1300 hectares of bushland in the area of Woodstock, west of Burrill Lake. Helicopter pilot Allan Tull died while waterbombing the blaze.
December: Fire crews battled to control a suspicious blaze on the Brooman Road at Morton, north-west of Termeil. The fire was reported at about 10.20am on Saturday, December 29.
2019:
February: A 23-hectare fire broke out at Windywoppa Road. The fire was located approximately half in State Forest and half on private property. The fire ground was approximately five kilometres northeast of Nelligen. Far South Coast District manager John Cullen said the cause of the fire was under investigation.
March: A bushfire burnt more than 200 hectares of land around Termeil Lake.
June: Just after 10.30pm on Friday, June 14, RFS crews from Batemans Bay, Nelligen and Long Beach RFS attended a "moderate-sized" bush fire near Western Distributor Rd, Currowan. A Batemans Bay RFS spokesperson said crews worked to contain the fire until just after 2am that night.
He said crews faced a difficult-to-access area that was close proximity to rural properties. Work continued for several days.
The spokesperson said major planning was involved in containing the fire on Sunday, June 16.
He said crews could not contain the head of the fire with trucks because there were not enough tracks around fire and the terrain was too hilly and steep.
The fire was also too large for walking crews to contain with "hand tools".
The cause of the fire was unknown.