The first Army reservists in Australia to be deployed to bushfires this season have travelled from Wagga to Tumut to help ferry donated supplies to firefighters on the front line.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Reservists from Alpha Company, 1st/19th Battalion Royal NSW Regiment from Wagga arrived at Tumut's Community Support Centre a bit after 3pm to load up an army truck with supplies for delivery to firefighters on the front line.
The reservists told The Daily Advertiser that they were the first Army contingent to be deployed to a bushfire.
The Army backup arrived in Tumut within two hours of Prime Minister Scott Morrison announce that 3000 Australian Defence Force reservists would be deployed to help fight bushfires.
The proposal to deploy reservists was approved during a meeting of the National Security Committee of Cabinet, which includes Riverina MP and Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack.
At the time the reservists began loading shopping bags and cardboard boxes full of food and supplies in Tumut, the nearby town of Adelong was under direct threat from the Dunns Road bushfire.
Adelong was considered safe on Saturday morning but erratic winds pushed the fire across the Snowy Mountains Highway in the early afternoon.
"We hope we can still get through [to firefighters on the front line]," one of the reservists said.
The Daily Advertiser visited Adelong on Saturday morning prior to an emergency warning being declared.
Adelong resident Duke Smyth said he was staying put for the moment but he was planning to head to Wagga if conditions get too bad.
"If it gets too severe, I'm out of here," he told The Daily Advertiser while dropping in to the main street for fish and chips.
Mr Smyth said his family has already left for Wagga except for his son, who is defending his own property. Police closed the Snowy Mountains Highway on Friday Morning, which is Adelong's main link to the Hume Highway.
"It's very quiet in Adelong right now. It's a ghost town," Mr Smyth said. "I'm packing up to go to Wagga if I have to."
Adelong residents brought donations of coffee, and slabs of water and Coca-Cola to the town's Rural Fire Service station, where volunteers were waiting on standby with water tankers, road graders and heavy earth-moving equipment.
Live bushfire alerts are available via the RFS Fires Near Me website and smartphone app.