🔗 Share this article

As a local resident returned to his property on Friday afternoon, his rural mid-north coast property was surrounded by a dense smoke column. Within twenty-four hours later, a pair of homes on his street were destroyed, and the nearby woodland would be reduced to charred remnants.

A Town Grappling with Loss

The community of Bulahdelah, around 235km north of Sydney, has become at the centre of a devastating event after a veteran firefighter died on Sunday evening when he was hit by a collapsing tree. This represents a ominous beginning 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.

“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 travelers on their way 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 blanketed in thick, orange smoke. Water-bombing helicopters hovered overhead, assisting firefighters on the ground who were attempting to quash a blaze that had consumed 4,000 hectares since Friday.

Heavy vehicles 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 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 seem like a typical day if not for the aircraft overhead and acrid odor lingering in the air.

A fuel depot for aircraft has been established at the town’s showground, converting it into a base for around 300 emergency personnel who have travelled from across the state to help.

On Monday afternoon, supplies of water were being offloaded 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 frontline.

Personal Accounts from the Fireground

Plumes of smoke were continuing to emit from glowing hotspots 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 charred teddy bear remained attached to the log, still wearing 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 neighbor's home burning to the ground.

He recalled 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 sprayed the house and shed down, sprayed the fence line,” he said, and then his reaction turned to “alarm”. “I thought, ‘this is overwhelming’,” he said. “But I refused to leave.”

Thankfully, 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”.

An Environment Altered

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

“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 largely survived Saturday’s blaze, other than a damaged light 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 approached a nearby ridge and that was quite frightening then, but the wind changed.

“The dryness is extreme now. It came from everywhere, and the firies essentially protected it [the property].”

This was not a novel situation for Curley, who nearly lost his home in Wattle Grove when fires came through in 2019.

“You see people on the news say, ‘I can’t believe how fast it came’,” he said. “It seems distant, and suddenly it surrounds you. I know what it’s like. 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 help with the containment effort and had done an “incredible work” saving properties from being destroyed.

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

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

“We’ve seen the Pacific Highway open and close 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 anticipated to be impacted by the highway fire on Monday evening. Residents had been urged to evacuate if unprepared, and prepare a bushfire survival plan.

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

“The forecast is mid 30s with shifting winds, and that has been difficult - wind swirls in the area.”