Australian Defence Force (ADF) troops travelling to bushfire affected communities in NSW and Victoria have been welcomed to Dubbo by the region's mayor Ben Shields.
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The Dubbo Showground is serving as a stopover point for convoys of ADF vehicles, which have been passing through the region since Tuesday and have troops on board who will offer much-needed support to affected communities.
Councillor Shields, his colleague Cr Greg Mohr and Dubbo Regional Council's chief executive officer Michael McMahon met with about 30 troops on Thursday.
Many of the troops who stopped in Dubbo came from around Ipswich and the south-east Queensland region, Cr Shields said.
"I see it as a privilege to be able to host these guys and to know that Dubbo has been able to play a small role in helping them get to the southern areas more comfortably," Cr Shields told Australian Community Media.
According to Cr Shields, the troops were "very, very enthusiastic to get down and help".
"I was quite surprised how eager they were," he said.
"They are not just following orders to go and assist, they're doing it with great enthusiasm.
"I think it is great knowing that we do have such a professional defence force in this country."
Council offered the showground free-of-charge after it was approached by the ADF, Cr Shields confirmed.
"We've got things like appropriate amenities, toilets, showers, which would be very useful for a convoy of trucks heading down south," he said.
"Anything Dubbo Regional Council can do in any way, at any time whatsoever, to assist the ADF [we'll do], they've only gotta give us the orders."
At least 26 people are estimated to have died and more than 2,000 homes have been destroyed by the fires which have saddened the nation.
More than 800 million animals are estimated to have been killed and more than 100 fires were still burning on Thursday.
