Anyone impacted in any way by the Coolagolite Road bushfire in early October is invited to a community morning tea at Four Winds.
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The free morning tea, organised by NSW Reconstruction Authority, will be held at Four Winds in Barragga Bay, from 9.30am to 12.30pm on Thursday, December 21.
Heidi Stratford, NSW Reconstruction Authority director for the Illawarra and South East, said the event is part of its ongoing and continued support for people affected by the fire.
It follows the bushfire recovery centre that NSW Reconstruction Authority operated at the Bermagui Surf Life Saving Club in October.
Ms Stratford said roughly 100 people visited the centre to access a range of support services over five days.
She said after the Black Summer bushfires people could not come together as a community because of COVID.
"That connection is really important so we are holding this community morning tea."
Potential BlazeAid help
Ms Stratford said that the Reconstruction Authority and Bega Valley Shire Council (BVSC) visited several properties including some of those most impacted by the bushfires.
"Fencing is one of the big pieces we heard back from people."
Some people were covered by insurance while others were not.
Impacted properties that bordered on national parks could apply for funding assistance to rebuild fences.
"For others we are potentially looking at establishing a BlazeAid camp," Ms Stratford said.
She said BVSC and the Reconstruction Authority are awaiting an impact assessment from the recent flooding in Bermagui and surrounds before potentially giving BlazeAid a scope that may cover a larger area than was affected by the bushfire.
Ms Stratford said supply chain issues were causing delays to people getting the necessary fencing materials.
Back-to-back disasters
She said the Bega Valley has had 14 natural disaster declarations in three years.
On each occasion there was significant damage to infrastructure, community and private property.
The natural disaster declarations trigger funding for council to fix essential infrastructure like roads and bridges.
"This community is facing these back-to-back disasters," she said.
The community morning tea will provide a friendly and welcoming atmosphere and give people a chance to come together before Christmas.
"It is an opportunity to connect and decompress and is an informal way to connect with some support services."
