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As a local resident arrived home on Friday afternoon, his rural mid-north coast property was surrounded by a “big plume of smoke”. Less than twenty-four hours later, two dwellings on his street would be lost, and the adjacent bushland became a scorched landscape.

A Community at the Centre of Tragedy

The township of Bulahdelah, approximately 235km north of Sydney, has found itself at the heart of a tragedy after a veteran firefighter lost his life on Sunday evening when he was hit by a collapsing tree. This marks a ominous beginning to the wildfire period.

Four properties have been destroyed in the wider Bulahdelah area, including 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,” he said. “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 holidaymakers on their way up the coastal region to beach areas such as Seal Rocks, Forster and Port Macquarie.

On Monday afternoon, the highway south of town was covered by thick, orange smoke. Aircraft conducting water drops hovered overhead, assisting 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 blackened gum trees and burnt grass on each side of the highway evidence of how far the fire had swept through the adjacent Myall Lakes national park. It was still at a watch and act level on Monday evening.

The Nerve Centre for Firefighting

In Bulahdelah, though, it would seem like a typical day if not for the helicopters circling overhead and scent of burning hanging in the atmosphere.

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

On Monday afternoon, water bottles were being unloaded from trucks and sweets were being packed 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

Clouds of smoke were still rising from glowing hotspots on Emu Creek Road, a meandering country road that hugs a creek bed south of the township where two houses were lost.

On a fence post outside a destroyed home, a scorched stuffed toy remained attached to the log, complete with a Christmas hat.

Nearby, Morgan was on his veranda with his two dogs, a little patch of grass surrounding his house the sole remnant of how the area once appeared. Against the odds, his property was spared, despite his neighbour’s burning to the ground.

He remembered receiving a call from a friend at lunchtime on Saturday, warning him “you have roughly 30 minutes and then a fire’s going to hit”. His estimate was spot on.

“We sprayed the house and shed down, sprayed the fence line,” he said, and then his reaction turned to “alarm”. “I said to myself, ‘what have I gotten into’,” he said. “But I wasn’t leaving.”

Fortunately, crews protected the home, and succeeded in defending it. The bushfire moved through in about half an hour, with a sound resembling “a thunderous blaze”.

An Environment Altered

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

“We used to get rain every week,” he said. “Fires of this magnitude are unprecedented. But you’ve got to take the good with the bad.”

On the same street, Jeff Curley was looking after his friend’s property which had also mostly been spared Saturday’s blaze, except for 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 pretty scary then, but the wind changed.

“It’s just so much drier this time. The fire approached from all directions, 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 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 on top of you. I understand the feeling. I told my friend to evacuate immediately, and he did.”

Official Response and Ongoing Threat

Kirsty Channon, spokesperson for the NSW Rural Fire Service, said crews from multiple agencies had come from “right up and down the coast” to help with the firefighting operation and had done an “outstanding job” saving properties from being destroyed.

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

“The firefighting community is a close-knit group,” she said. “The threat persists.

“We’ve seen 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 focus on the tiny township of Nerong, which was expected to be hit by the Pacific Highway blaze on Monday evening. Residents had been urged to evacuate if unprepared, and prepare a bushfire survival 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 has been difficult - wind swirls in the area.”