9 June, 2022
BlazeAid to the rescue
After a string of flood events across the region, the Victorian-based volunteer assistance organisation BlazeAid is about to launch a full-on assault for local primary producers who have sustained property damage.
BlazeAid was established after the horrific Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria in 2009.
The organisation works with families and individuals in rural areas of Australia in the wake of events such as fires and floods.
The volunteers assist to rebuild fences and other structures that have been damaged or destroyed and perhaps just as importantly, to help lift the morale
of those who have been impacted.
BlazeAid has this week established a base camp at the Warwick Show-grounds and will work from that base to help farmers across the surrounding region.
The organisation was alerted to the devastation along the Condamine Valley by Clifton district cattle producer Hilary O’Leary.
Mr O’Leary said he contacted the group after becoming aware of the extent of damage to fencing and other farming infrastructure through the valleys of the Condamine River and the tributaries that feed into it such as Sandy, Dalrymple and Kings Creeks.
After a stint at Casino following the severe flooding in the Richmond River district, a coordinator has come to the Darling Downs to work with other volunteers here.
He established the base camp at Warwick.
From that point, the team of volunteers will assist on properties within a 60 kilometre radius.
BlazeAid Operations Manager Melissa Jones said the organisation is already aware of some 80 properties in the region where assistance is needed.
She said it will probably take four to five months to complete the task.
She said BlazeAid has a base of around 35,000 volunteers, many of whom travel anywhere in Australia to render support.
“It’s amazing the joy you know when you’re helping somebody,” Ms Jones said.
She said the reason BlazeAid generally works within a 60 kilometre radius is that travelling time needs to be taken into account.
Ms Jones said sometimes the organisation does work beyond that radius, but it becomes necessary to make arrangements for some type of accommodation such as on-site camping.
