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As a local resident returned to his property 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, a pair of homes on his street were consumed, and the adjacent bushland was transformed into a scorched landscape.

A Community at the Centre of Tragedy

The community of Bulahdelah, approximately 235km north of Sydney, has become at the centre of a devastating event after a long-serving firefighter died on Sunday evening when he was hit by a falling tree. This marks a ominous beginning to the wildfire period.

Four properties have been lost in the broader Bulahdelah area, comprising two on Emu Creek Road, where Morgan lives, one on the Pacific Highway and one south of the township.

“Words fail to capture it,” Morgan stated. “My canine companions remained close, it was frightening.”

Scenes of Destruction and Resilience

Bulahdelah is a frequent rest stop on the Pacific Highway for travelers journeying up the mid-north coast to beach areas such as Seal Rocks, Forster and Port Macquarie.

On Monday afternoon, the highway south of town was covered by dense, ochre-hazed smoke. Aircraft conducting water drops hovered overhead, assisting ground crews who were attempting to quash a blaze that had scorched 4,000 hectares since Friday.

Passing trucks slowed to observe traffic cones and warning signs, the charred eucalypts and ash-covered ground on each side of the highway a stark reminder 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 seem like a typical day if not for the aircraft overhead and scent of burning hanging in the atmosphere.

A fuel depot for aircraft has been established at the town’s showground, turning it into a central point for around 300 fire crews 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 estimated that they needed a water bottle every 20 minutes when on the frontline.

Personal Accounts from the Fireground

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

On a fence post outside a destroyed home, a charred teddy bear remained pinned to the log, complete with a Christmas hat.

Down the road, Morgan sat on his porch with his two dogs, a little patch of grass surrounding his house the only remaining sign of how the area once appeared. Against the odds, his property was saved, despite his neighbour’s burning to the ground.

He remembered receiving a call from a friend at lunchtime on Saturday, warning him “you’ve got about half an hour and then a blaze will arrive”. His timing was precise.

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

Fortunately, firefighters surrounded the house, and succeeded in defending it. The bushfire moved through in about half an hour, with a sound resembling “a roaring flame”.

A Landscape Transformed

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

“It once rained rain every week,” he said. “Fires of this magnitude are unprecedented. 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 mostly been spared Saturday’s blaze, other than a broken headlight 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. “A few years ago a fire almost reached a local ridge and that was quite frightening then, but the wind changed.

“It’s just so much drier this time. It came from everywhere, and the firies essentially protected it [the property].”

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

“You hear reports say, ‘The speed was unbelievable’,” he said. “You think it’s over there, and suddenly it surrounds you. I understand the feeling. 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 help with 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.

“Firefighters is one big family,” she said. “The threat persists.

“We’ve seen the Pacific Highway closing and reopening a few times, the fire spot across the road. It’s still not contained, it is expected to spread.”

Channon said efforts in the coming hours would center on the small community of Nerong, which was anticipated to be impacted by the Pacific Highway blaze on Monday evening. Residents had been urged to leave if not prepared, and prepare a bushfire survival plan.

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

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