Condition of road hampered escape from bushfire, resident says

Sharon Bunter said she and her husband Paul had to flee their home in the early hours of the morning as massives bushfires swept through the Snowy Valleys area.

But, Mrs Bunter said, their escape was hampered by the condition of their only access road.

The Bunters' property is on a road owned by the NSW Forestry Corporation, but Mrs Bunter believes not enough is being done to maintain it.

"For example, we used to have a nice little bridge we could drive across, but they decommissioned that and put a rock crossing in," Mrs Bunter said.

"If we get a big flood, we won't be able to get out then either.

"The night of the fires, we spent two and a half hours driving around, trying to get out. Kings Road is full of bumps and ruts. It's disgusting."

Mrs Bunter said she has previously approached Forestry Corporation staff in Tumut and asked them about improving the road.

"They need to think about maintaining the road because it's our only access in and out. I'm really disgusted," she said.

"Even on the night of the fire, no one came down Kings Road to tell us we had to get out.

"Paul was sent a text message, which he got the next day, because we don't get mobile coverage out where we are.

"Our main telephone service goes down every so often.If your phone go out, you've got no communication.

"I have been asking them for years, and I've asked them 'what happens if there's a fire, how do we get out'?"

Mrs Bunter said her father-in-law had lived on the property for 40 years before she and her husband purchased it from him.

She said her father-in-law had a "handshake agreement" with the Forestry Corporation to maintain the road.

A spokesperson for Forestry Corporation said forest roads "are not a formal part of the road network and are only maintained to the standard required by Forestry Corporation, which is often 4WD standard".

"While residents who live near state forests may use forest roads, this is clearly stated in any formal or informal access arrangement," the spokesperson said.

"This particular road is maintained to a 4WD standard, which is consistent with Forestry Corporation's needs and with most of the 60,000-kilometre forest road network.

"Recent fires in the area cut off many access routes including major public roads and the Rural Fire Service provided regular warnings and advice to communities to either leave early or shelter in place during recent fires."