Calare MP Andrew Gee urges governments to make grants available for fire-affected farmers

A bushfire has been burning more than 80 kilometres away in Tambaroora, near Hill End, since March 5.

Now that the fire is under control, the extent of the damage caused by the fire is coming to light.

READ MORE: Blaze near Hill End officially contained as four-day extreme fire danger period approaches

Mr Gee, who has visited the area, said the scenes are of utter devastation.

"In some parts it's like a moonscape. It rivals what we saw during Black Summer," he said.

"I was out there on Friday driving through Hill End with the RFS and we saw farmers loading dead sheep onto the back of trailers - just heartbreaking - and other farmers just with nothing but black paddocks."

He said farmers are now trying to work out what the future holds for them.

"There are a number of farmers in that area who have had paddocks that have been badly burnt out, so there's no feed in them," he said.

"They've lost their haystacks, many of them have lost stock, and they're basically now looking to the state and federal governments for some assistance."

READ MORE: Family watches on from Sydney as security cameras capture fire descending on their house

That is why he is urging the NSW government and the Australian government to make special disaster grants available to farmers, similar to what was done to help people in Eugowra impacted by floods.

"In Eugowra and the Cabonne Shire, we saw the $75,000 grants rolled out for farmers and, although that didn't cover everything, it certainly is a good start in terms of giving farmers some clarity," Mr Gee said.

He has contacted the state and federal ministers for emergency management and emergency services, but has yet to receive a response.

He said the "full suite of services" to support farmers needs to be rolled out for the Hill End area.

"What we want is to get the support rolling and we want some indication as to when it will be available, and at the moment it is just not there," he said.

"There hasn't been very much information at all put out there as to what assistance the farmers can access, and we're coming into winter now and there's basically no hope of any new growth in terms of feed in the paddocks, and so they're going to have to be hand-feeding through winter, and many are asking how they're going to get there and how they're going to do it."

Mr Gee's concern is that the fire-affected residents of the Hill End area could get lost in the lead up to the state election, which is less than two weeks away.

"I'm just a bit concerned that the priority for dealing with these issues may have slipped and may be getting lost in the flurry of activity leading into the state election," he said.

"We've just got to, I think, keep our local residents in need front and centre, even through elections, because they need help badly.

"There's a lot of heartache, I would say, up in that area at the moment."

While fire-affected farmers are awaiting information about any government assistance they could qualify for, they have not been abandoned by their community.

Donations are being collected to help them, with the efforts being led by the Lions Club.

Anyone who would like to help can make a financial donation to:

Lions District 201N4 Fire & Flood Account

National Australia Bank

BSB 082 811

Account 130 866 857

Financial donations should be marked as "Hill End Fire".

There is also a need for donations of hay, including good quality lucerne hay, and high protein grain.

Anyone who can spare any is asked to call Penny Hundy on 0417 629 708, who will coordinate with local farmers in need.

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