Jingellic community rallies after Green Valley Talmalmo fire comes within metres

Farms are all but destroyed, livestock are dead and homes are lost.

But through the ashes the sense of community and hope is what shines through in Jingellic.

As the Green Valley Talmalmo fire raged towards the town, for the second time, on Saturday night most of the farmers and community members were defending their homes and homes of others on the back of a fire truck.

And the next day when the threat was downgraded, people got to work again.

Similar to Corryong and other small townships in the path of the fire, crews were able to save the main section of town which then became a staging area and community relief centre.

In Jingellic the inferno came within metres of the pub.

"We are the pub with no electricity, at least we aren't the pub with no beer," Bridge Hotel Jingellic owner Jacki Elliott said.

"It is really the 38th of December now for us, we haven't had a New Years yet really, the days just keep rolling on and I think we will be still calling it December until it is over.

"The hills were on fire around the whole town - it was like nothing we have ever seen and we are lucky it only got to our doorstep.

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"It was pretty scary here on Saturday night the hill in front of the pub was red.

"The pub was like the flashing lights in the darkness, the firefighters saved our town and our pub.

"Our son Tom has been in the fire truck most days."

For farmer, community member and volunteer Mary Hoodless, despite losing more than 90 per cent of her family's property "the focus had to be on helping others".

"That night I started getting text messages saying 'can we open up the community centre'," she said.

"People wanted to help and we needed this place for rest and companionship.

"Our community is amazing and we have been feeding hundreds of firefighters and people who have no supplies for about nine days since the fire started.

"We have to pull through and everyone has been incredible - we must keep going."

Mary said the community centre at the football ground was only just upgraded thanks to a government grant.

"It has been a central hub for our town for two years now, each Friday night we have dinner and drinks and it brings everyone together," she said.

"It was set up as a emergency community centre but we never thought we would be using it to this capacity this soon." Despite having no power the main priority for the pub is ensuring they can serve beer.

"We have generators and we are hoping to open up and serve some beer," she said.

"We were expecting more than 1000 people New Year's Eve and had about $10,000 worth of food. There is a lot we have lost, including some of our farm near Talmalmo but we know we are lucky.

"And we are already thinking of ways to give back and fundraise some money."

The NSW RFS still has concerns the Green Valley Talmalmo fire, which has now burnt more than 180,000 hectares, will merge with the Dunns Road fire with extreme conditions expected again on Friday.

Public response officer Brian Millar said if either fire "gets a run on" it is likely they will merge.

"We are undertaking tactical back burning in areas to strengthen containment lines while the weather is relatively mundane," he said from the fire ground north of Jingellic yesterday.

"The Western Australia Strike Team are here helping to prepare before the weather later in the week.

"We are assisting with property protection and are moving towards the recovery phase in this part of the fire.

"But in saying that the threat isn't over yet."

Strong winds and temperatures again into the 40s are expected on Friday with firefighters concerned the winds could change direction and threaten more properties east of Jingellic.

Wantagong Rural Fire Service captain and local farmer Richard Harbison told The Border Mail if south easterly winds and hot weather play out the Holbrook township "could be in real trouble".

"It is that real unknown at the moment, but we have to be vigilant leading up to the hotter conditions and do all we can to prepare," he said.

"We have about 20 firefighters out of this shed and we have been going out for two weeks now and we are all buggered.

"But we are all farmers and these are our properties we are protecting so we have to keep going."