As heat records were broken around the nation last weekend, two fires raged in the central west, near Mudgee.
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Driven by increasing winds over the Sunday, the two bushfires spread as far as Dunedoo and Cassilis, as well as Kains Flat.
The Sir Ivan Fire, still under investigation at this time, is still being consolidated along containment lines, with the fire localised near Leadville.
According to the NSW Rural Fire Service in their 8th update of the assessment of fire affected areas, 34 homes have been destroyed by the fire, with another ten homes being damaged by the spread of the blaze.
One church was also destroyed in the Leadville bushfire, and a local community hall was also destroyed.
In total, 120 outbuildings were burned down in the fire, and 39 more were damaged.
In the Kains Flat fire, one uninhabited house was destroyed, as well as four outbuildings.
Bianca Williams, a long time resident of the area, had both her family property near Turill and her husband’s parents property near Coolah in the path of the fire.
“The fire came onto us really quickly, and ripped right through us and all of our neighbours and friends,” Ms Williams said.
“Luckily our houses were all saved by the water-bombing planes, as far as we know – they are standing but up to the back doorstep is burned and there’s not much left on the property.”
Bianca now looks to the future of the property after the fire ravaged the land.
“The next step for us is to clear any dead animals off the property first of all,” she said.
“Even though the house is still there, it’s all covered in soot and the fire smell is just through everything.”
The house where Bianca and her family are now staying, her husband’s old family home, was also in the path of the fire and but for the quick actions of some of the residences near the edge of the fire it would have gone up in smoke as well.
“Some of the neighbours acted quickly, one of them drove a dozer through the paddocks and a couple of boys on utes put the spread of the fire out,” she said.
“It’s these local blokes that have saved a lot of the places around the region. They’ve been out for four days with water tanks on the back of utes trying to put out fires and saving houses.”
“In the end, we didn’t lose everything, so we’re the lucky ones. It’s so unfortunate for everyone and everything that has been lost.”
To stay up-to-date with local bush fire situations that may threaten homes, check the RFS website or Facebook page or call the NSW RFS Bush Fire Information Line on 1800 679 737.