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When a local resident returned to his property on the end of the week, his home on the coastal fringe was encircled by a dense smoke column. Less than twenty-four hours later, two dwellings on his street would be lost, and the surrounding forest became a scorched landscape.

A Community at the Centre of Tragedy

The township of Bulahdelah, around 235km north of Sydney, has become at the centre of a tragedy after a experienced firefighter died on Sunday evening when he was struck by a falling tree. This represents a worrying commencement to the bushfire season.

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

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

Landscapes of Loss and Fortitude

Bulahdelah is a common pause on the Pacific Highway for tourists on their way 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 covered by thick, orange smoke. Water-bombing helicopters circled above, assisting ground crews who were working to contain a fire that had burnt 4,000 hectares since Friday.

Transport vehicles slowed to observe road markers and reduce-speed signs, the blackened gum 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 remained 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 aircraft overhead and smell of smoke lingering in the air.

A refueling point for aircraft has been set up at the town’s showground, turning it into a central point for around 300 firefighters and volunteers 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 estimated that they needed a water bottle every 20 minutes when on the fire line.

Personal Accounts from the Fireground

Plumes 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, still wearing a Christmas hat.

Down the road, 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 remembered 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 prediction was accurate.

“We doused the buildings 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 managed to save it. The bushfire moved through in about half an hour, sounding like “a roaring flame”.

A Landscape Transformed

Morgan, who has resided at the same house for around 30 years, has never seen 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 mostly been spared Saturday’s blaze, other than a broken headlight on a car and a container of wood stored for winter that had burnt to ash.

“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.

“The conditions are far more arid now. It came from everywhere, and the firefighters essentially protected it [the property].”

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

“You hear reports say, ‘The speed was unbelievable’,” he said. “It seems distant, and suddenly it’s on top of 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 various services had come from “right up and down the coast” to assist in the firefighting operation and had done an “outstanding job” saving properties 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. “But we’re definitely not out of the woods yet.

“There have been instances of the Pacific Highway open and close a few times, the fire jump backwards and forwards. It remains uncontained, it is expected to spread.”

Channon said efforts in the coming hours would center on the tiny township of Nerong, which was expected to be hit by the highway fire on Monday evening. Authorities advised locals to leave if not prepared, and prepare a bushfire survival plan.

“Spot fires are igniting from lightning strikes a few days ago,” she said.

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