MidCoast Council mayor David West has thanked all firefighters and emergency service personnel for battling severe bushfires on the North Coast.
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Speaking with firefighters last week, Cr West was told it's the worst fire event in the history of the MidCoast Council local government area.
"As a mayor, I feel so helpless for these pilots, officers, firefighters and volunteers who have risked their lives," Cr West said.
"These people have given up their time and well-being to give other people security.
"All I can say is thank you."
Rural Fire Service (RFS), Fire and Rescue NSW, State Emergency Service, State Forest, Victorian based Country Fire Authority, National Parks and Wildlife and NSW Police have worked together to quell the fire threat while strike force teams from areas such as the Blue Mountains, Hawkesbury, Hunter, Warringah, Central Coast and Illawarra have called the Mid North Coast home for the last week.
"Inside those trucks are fathers, sons, mothers and daughters but all we see is a fire truck," Cr West said.
"We have no idea who they are but they are people who give up their day-to-day income to defend people who have decided to live a country life."
He was in awe of those who fronted fires that reached more than 40 metres high.
"They didn't run away, they stood and faced these fires," Cr West said.
It's going to be a long summer ahead for firefighters.
"Mother nature has unleashed a beast you can't control," Cr West said.
"It used to take days to burn through timber, I was told it happened in about four hours."