A Bathurst man has commended the work of emergency volunteers on the South Coast in helping his family evacuate from nearby bushfires and now he wants to give back to the people that have lost so much.
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James Meares and his family were camping at Aragunnu, just north of Tathra, since arriving at the campground on December 22.
He said conditions were smokey - not that too unfamiliar to Bathurst in recent weeks - and while fires were burning on the South Coast, he said there was no immediate fire danger at where he was staying.
However, that all changed on the morning of December 31.
"We were woken by the police at 4am and our campground and another three or four were evacuated to Bermagui," Mr Meares said.
"We got to Bermagui about 5am but we were told that Bermagui is in the line of danger and we were then evacuated to Narooma by about 6am. This all happened before dawn.
"That little fire that was probably a few thousand hectares large had come 40 kilometres over night."
Mr Meares and his family where then trapped at Narooma due to road closures.
As roads slowly opened, tourists made their escape, but lines at petrol stations were well queued back, with Mr Meares waiting for over an hour and a half to fill up.
His family finally left the South Coast on Friday, January 3, and arrived back in Bathurst on Saturday, January 4.
Now he wants to help organise a holiday for volunteers who were unable to enjoy a break over Christmas because of the bushfires.
"We can give back something if there's enough people in our community, particularly business people, that feel if they can make a contribution in service," he said.
"I suggested that [volunteers] could come during the Bathurst Winter Festival [for a holiday]. It would be for those people who probably don't have the means that have the means to go somewhere. It's a special thing to get your things paid for and to know it's coming out of gratitude and empathy.
"We're really a long way, away for any particular support but we can help them out with a practical experience later on to help them recover from the psychological impacts of this event.
"If businesses can't provide a service, they could pledge some financial support."
Mr Meares is hoping to raise support to attract between 50-60 people from the South Coast to Bathurst via bus during the Bathurst Winter Festival and provide accommodations.
If anyone would like to offer a donation to Mr Meares' fundraiser, contact him via jmeares@ozemail.com.au.
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