Many residents of a small village northwest of Coffs Harbour in NSW have fled in the face of a bushfire emergency warning, but one cafe owner says she'll stay until the last moment in a bid to save one of its oldest buildings.
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People in the Nana Glen area have been warned to leave immediately as the Liberation Trail bushfire burns out of control.
Alison Johnson runs the Idle Inn Cafe in Nana Glen and says most people - especially those with young families - have evacuated to Coffs Harbour.
"I can see a neighbour evacuating at the moment," she told AAP.
But Ms Johnson said she'll stick around until the last moment to protect the cafe's wooden building which she describes as something of a community hub.
"We're one of the oldest heritage buildings in town so I want to protect it," she said.
"If one ember lands on it, it'll go up. When you look above the paddock at the end of the street, you can see the smoke behind the tree line.
"The trees are a muted grey, shrouded in smoke. The first sign of a firefront and we'll be out."
Ms Johnson said police had been patrolling the area to advise people on evacuating and to ward off looters.
"We just had the police come past and say 'If you are going to leave, leave now'," she said.
"These damn looters have come in trying to break into properties. It's just disgusting."
The RFS said there are a number of large bushfires burning in the Coutts Crossing, Coramba, Nana Glen and Glenreagh areas and added they're likely to spread quickly towards the coast because of the hot, windy weather conditions on Tuesday.
Australian Associated Press
