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When a local resident returned to his property on Friday afternoon, his home on the coastal fringe was encircled by a dense smoke column. Within twenty-four hours later, two dwellings on his street were destroyed, and the surrounding forest was transformed into charred remnants.

A Community at the Centre of Tragedy

The community of Bulahdelah, around 235km north of Sydney, has become at the centre of a devastating event after a veteran firefighter died on Sunday evening when he was struck by a falling tree. This represents a worrying commencement to the fire season.

A total of four homes have been destroyed in the broader Bulahdelah area, comprising two on Emu Creek Road, the residence of Garry Morgan, one on the Pacific Highway and one south of the township.

“No words can express it,” Morgan stated. “The dogs didn’t leave my side, it was frightening.”

Landscapes of Loss and Fortitude

Bulahdelah is a popular stopover on the Pacific Highway for holidaymakers journeying up the mid-north coast to coastal destinations such as Seal Rocks, Forster and Port Macquarie.

On Monday afternoon, the highway south of town was shrouded in thick, orange smoke. Helicopters hovered overhead, assisting firefighters on the ground who were attempting to quash a blaze that had consumed 4,000 hectares since Friday.

Passing trucks reduced speed for traffic cones and warning signs, the scorched trees and ash-covered ground on each side of the highway proof of how far the fire had burnt through the adjacent Myall Lakes national park. It was still at a 'watch and act' alert level on Monday evening.

The Nerve Centre for Firefighting

In Bulahdelah, though, it would appear as a typical day if not for the helicopters circling overhead and smell of smoke lingering in the air.

A refueling point for aircraft has been set up at the town’s showground, transforming it into a hub for around 300 emergency personnel who have travelled from across the state to help.

On Monday afternoon, water bottles were being unloaded from trucks and lollies were being packaged into zip lock bags. One firefighter noted that they needed a bottle of water every 20 minutes when on the active fire ground.

Personal Accounts from the Fireground

Clouds of smoke were continuing to emit from spots of embers on Emu Creek Road, a meandering country road that hugs a creek bed south of the township where two houses were lost.

On a boundary post outside a burnt property, a scorched stuffed toy remained pinned to the log, complete with a Christmas hat.

Nearby, Morgan was on his veranda with his two dogs, a small area of green surrounding his house the sole remnant of how the area once appeared. Miraculously, his property was saved, despite his neighbour’s burning to the ground.

He recalled receiving a call from a friend at lunchtime on Saturday, telling him “you have roughly 30 minutes and then a fire’s going to hit”. His prediction was accurate.

“We hosed down the property and shed down, wet the perimeter,” he said, and then his reaction turned to “alarm”. “I said to myself, ‘this is overwhelming’,” he said. “But I wasn’t leaving.”

Thankfully, firefighters surrounded the house, and managed to save it. The bushfire moved through in about half an hour, sounding like “a roaring inferno”.

An Environment Altered

Morgan, who has lived in the same house for around 30 years, has not witnessed the land so dry.

“We used to get rain every week,” he said. “This intensity is new. But you must accept the challenges with the rewards.”

On the same street, Jeff Curley was caring for his friend’s property which had also largely survived Saturday’s blaze, other than a damaged light on a car and a container of wood stored for winter that had burnt to ash.

“I’ve been here many, many times,” he said. “A few years ago a fire almost approached a nearby ridge and that was quite frightening then, but the wind changed.

“The dryness is extreme now. The fire approached from all directions, and the firies essentially protected it [the property].”

This was not a novel situation for Curley, who nearly lost his home in Wattle Grove when fires came through in 2019.

“You see people on the news say, ‘The speed was unbelievable’,” he said. “It seems distant, and all of a sudden it's upon you. I know what it’s like. I told my friend to evacuate immediately, and he did.”

Fire Service Update and Continuing Danger

Kirsty Channon, public information officer for the NSW Rural Fire Service, said crews from multiple agencies had come from “across the coastal region” to assist in the containment effort and had done an “amazing job” protecting houses from being destroyed.

She said all agencies had “worked as one” after the tragic loss of one of their own.

“The firefighting community is one big family,” she said. “But we’re definitely not out of the woods yet.

“We’ve seen the Pacific Highway closing and reopening a few times, the fire jump backwards and forwards. It remains uncontained, it will continue to grow.”

Channon said work in the immediate future would focus on the tiny township of Nerong, which was expected to be hit by the Pacific Highway blaze on Monday evening. Authorities advised locals to evacuate if unprepared, and prepare a bushfire survival plan.

“Small blazes are starting from storm activity a few days ago,” she said.

“Tomorrow’s weather is the mid-thirties with variable wind, and that’s been challenge - wind changes direction in the area.”