News

Crews from the NSW SES Bathurst Unit, one of many NSW SES crews who have been assisting the NSW Rural Fire Service (NSW RFS) throughout the fire crisis, recently stumbled across a thirsty koala while travelling to a bushfire-affected area.
After discovering the confused marsupial on a roadway the team were quick to pull over and offer him a drink, before moving the koala out of harm’s way.

The lone koala rescued by the Bathurst crew is just one example of the thousands of native animals who’ve been impacted by this season’s bushfires. The burnt area in NSW alone is now approaching 4 million hectares, and much of that was previously home and habitat to scores of precious wildlife.

WIRES has the following advice on how the public can assist wildlife during and after the fires.



• Leave out bowls of water for animals and birds escaping fires - use shallow bowls with a few sticks or stones on one side to allow smaller animals to escape should they fall in.
• Please keep cats indoors and dogs under control so that wildlife can flee safely through backyards and properties.


• Keep a cardboard box and towel in the boot of your car in case you find an injured animal so you can safely contain it without putting yourself in any danger.
• If the animal has been burnt, do not attempt to feed it, just wrap it loosely, ideally in a towel or cotton fabric, place it in a ventilated box with a lid and keep it in a dark, quiet place and wait for a rescuer or for transport to the nearest vet.
• If you can safely take an injured animal to your nearest vet please do so, as it will require an urgent assessment. Please also call WIRES on 1300 094 737 so we can follow up with vet and take the animal into care for rehabilitation.
• Please do not approach injured snakes, flying-foxes, large macropod (adult roos or wombats), raptors (eagles or hawks) or monitors (goannas) as these species must be rescued by trained specialists - please call WIRES for rescue assistance on 1300 094 737.
• If you have a swimming pool in the bushfire area pleas drape something over the edge of the pool so that animals have a surface to grab hold of and climb out such as heavy duty rope or a piece of timber secured at one end to something heavy outside the pool. Pool steps can also prove a hazard as can be too high for smaller animals to get out so placing a few bricks bricks or large stones to the side of each step will allow them to get a foothold. If possible check your pool twice daily including the skimmer box.

If you do find any animal trapped call WIRES immediately on 1300 094 737 for advice.