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When 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, a pair of homes on his street would be lost, and the nearby woodland would be reduced to 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 tragedy after a experienced firefighter lost his life on Sunday evening when he was struck by a falling tree. This signals a worrying commencement to the fire season.

Four properties have been lost 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.

“Words fail to capture it,” he said. “My dogs stayed right by me, it was terrifying.”

Landscapes of Loss and Fortitude

Bulahdelah is a common pause on the Pacific Highway for travelers 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 covered by dense, ochre-hazed smoke. Water-bombing helicopters circled above, aiding ground crews 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 charred eucalypts and charred grass on each side of the highway evidence of how far the fire had swept through the adjacent Myall Lakes national park. It remained at a watch and act level on Monday evening.

A Hub of Emergency Response

In Bulahdelah, though, it would appear as another ordinary 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 fire crews and volunteers who have come from across the state to help.

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

First-Hand Stories from the Blaze

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 attached to the log, complete with a Christmas hat.

Further along, Morgan was on his veranda 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 spared, 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 estimate was spot on.

“We doused the buildings and shed down, sprayed the fence line,” he said, and then his reaction turned to “panic”. “I thought, ‘this is overwhelming’,” he said. “But I refused to leave.”

Thankfully, crews protected the home, and managed to save it. The bushfire moved through in about half an hour, with a sound resembling “a roaring flame”.

A Landscape Transformed

Morgan, who has lived in the same house for around 30 years, has never seen the land this parched.

“We used to get rain every week,” he said. “We’ve never had fires like this. 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 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.

“The conditions are far more arid now. The fire approached from all directions, and the firies pretty much saved it [the property].”

This was not a novel situation for Curley, who came close to losing 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 suddenly it's upon you. I know what it’s like. I told my friend to just get out, and he did.”

Fire Service Update and Continuing Danger

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

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

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

“There have been instances of the Pacific Highway closing and reopening a few times, the fire jump backwards and forwards. It’s still not contained, it will continue to grow.”

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 leave if not prepared, and have a fire plan.

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

“Tomorrow’s weather is mid 30s with variable wind, and that’s been challenge - wind changes direction in the area.”