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As a local resident arrived home on the end of the week, his home on the coastal fringe was encircled by a “big plume of smoke”. Within twenty-four hours later, two houses on his street were consumed, and the adjacent bushland would be reduced to a scorched landscape.

A Community at the Centre of Tragedy

The community of Bulahdelah, around 235km north of Sydney, has found itself at the heart of a devastating event after a long-serving firefighter lost his life on Sunday evening when he was struck by a falling tree. This marks a ominous beginning to the fire season.

A total of four homes have been lost in the wider 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. “My canine companions remained close, the fear was palpable.”

Landscapes of Loss and Fortitude

Bulahdelah is a frequent rest stop on the Pacific Highway for tourists on their way up the coastal region to coastal destinations such as Seal Rocks, Forster and Port Macquarie.

On Monday afternoon, the highway south of town was shrouded in dense, ochre-hazed smoke. Helicopters circled above, aiding ground crews who were battling a fire that had burnt 4,000 hectares since Friday.

Passing trucks slowed to observe road markers and reduce-speed signs, the charred eucalypts and charred grass on each side of the highway evidence of how far the fire had ravaged the adjacent Myall Lakes national park. It remained at a 'watch and act' alert level on Monday evening.

The Nerve Centre for Firefighting

In Bulahdelah, though, it would appear as another ordinary day if not for the aircraft overhead and smell of smoke hanging in the atmosphere.

A refueling point for aircraft has been established at the town’s showground, turning it into a central point for around 300 firefighters and volunteers who have come from across the state to help.

On Monday afternoon, cartons of water were being offloaded 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 fire line.

Personal Accounts from the Fireground

Billows of smoke were still rising from spots of embers on Emu Creek Road, a winding rural street that follows 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 attached to the log, complete with a Christmas hat.

Further along, Morgan sat on his porch with his two dogs, a little patch of grass surrounding his house the only remaining sign of how the landscape used to look. 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’ve got about half an hour and then a blaze will arrive”. His timing was precise.

“We doused the buildings and shed down, wet the perimeter,” he said, and then his reaction turned to “panic”. “I thought, ‘this is overwhelming’,” he said. “I decided to stay.”

Thankfully, firefighters surrounded the house, and succeeded in defending it. The bushfire passed over in about half an hour, with a sound resembling “a thunderous blaze”.

A Landscape Transformed

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. “We’ve never had fires like this. But you’ve got to take the good with the bad.”

On the same street, Jeff Curley was caring for his friend’s property which had also mostly been spared Saturday’s blaze, except for a damaged light on a car and a barrel of firewood stored for winter that had been reduced to ashes.

“I am very familiar with this area,” he said. “Previously a fire almost approached a nearby ridge and that was quite frightening then, but the wind changed.

“It’s just so much drier this time. Flames emerged on all sides, and the firies pretty much saved it [the property].”

This experience wasn’t new for Curley, who nearly lost his home in Wattle Grove when fires came through in 2019.

“You hear reports say, ‘I can’t believe how fast it came’,” he said. “You think it’s over there, and suddenly it's upon you. I understand the feeling. I told my friend to evacuate immediately, and he did.”

Fire Service Update and Continuing Danger

Kirsty Channon, spokesperson for the NSW Rural Fire Service, said crews from multiple agencies had come from “right up and down the coast” to assist in the containment effort and had done an “outstanding job” protecting houses from being destroyed.

She said all agencies had “pulled together” after the death of one of their own.

“Firefighters is one big family,” she said. “However, the danger is not over.

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

Channon said efforts in the coming hours would focus on the small community of Nerong, which was anticipated to be impacted by the highway fire on Monday evening. Residents had been urged to leave if not prepared, and have a fire plan.

“Spot fires are popping up from storm activity a few days ago,” she said.

“The forecast is the mid-thirties with shifting winds, and that’s been challenge - wind swirls in the area.”