They had forged a friendship through shared adversity in the 2019-20 fires, supporting each other when times were tough. So when the residents of Bilpin found themselves cut off in the floods last week, their mates in Mt Irvine, at the top of the Mountains, came to the rescue.
On the Monday of the three-day deluge, Sarah Hyde and her brother heard from Fiona and Nathan Germaine that supplies weren't getting through.
Ms Hyde sprang into action, contacting an old school friend and helicopter pilot, Robert Bentley-Johnson from Heliflight. He agreed to fly a load of goods into Bilpin, which was cut off to the north by the landslip on Bells Line of Road and to the south by the bridge at Richmond which was underwater.
The chopper company donated the flight, wanting nothing in return, said a delighted Ms Hyde.
But there was a limited amount of time to act so she put out the call to find someone who might be able to do the shopping at Bankstown Woollies.
"It was so time critical, we only had about a three-hour time period to get it done," she said. "I called Scouts, council, schools, the SES - and in the end it was volunteers from the aerodrome that did the shopping."
The initial detailed shopping list was ditched when she learnt the chopper could only carry 150 kilograms of goods. It was quickly refined, to "50 kilograms of meat, 50 kilograms of longlife milk and baby formula and 50 kilograms of nappies and toilet paper", Ms Hyde said.
Over at Bilpin, the stranded residents scoured around for a paddock on which the helicopter could land. Having found one, they spray-painted a huge 'H' on the grass. They also set up a wind sock using a silk scarf attached to a pole.
Meanwhile, Ms Hyde was facing an unfamiliar task: "Here I was, a Mountains speech pathologist, briefing on how to safely load and unload things from a helicopter."
When at 5pm on the Monday, the chopped touched down, the residents cheered.
"I got feedback from one of the people in Bilpin who said it was an absolute life-saver and a real mood lifter," Ms Hyde said.
She was overwhelmed by the number of people who offered to help in some way. Many wanted to donate money but she was cautious, remembering the bushfire appeal by comedian Celeste Barber, which raised $51 million that ultimately could only be donated to the RFS, not bushfire victims.
But she was heartened by the level of response and how quickly it happened.
"The flight was about mobilising quickly for a friend and a neighbour who needs help. Amongst the chaos of emergency situations, the question I asked myself was, 'what can I do to help my neighbours out'."
Bells Line of Road remains closed between the Darling Causeway at Berambing Crest, forcing all vehicles on to the Great Western Highway. Easter traffic is expected to be very heavy.
