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As Garry Morgan arrived home on the end of the week, his rural mid-north coast property was enveloped in a “big plume of smoke”. Within twenty-four hours later, two houses on his street were consumed, and the nearby woodland became a scorched landscape.

A Town Grappling with Loss

The community of Bulahdelah, around 235km north of Sydney, has found itself at the heart of a devastating event after a veteran firefighter lost his life on Sunday evening when he was struck by a collapsing tree. This signals a “foreboding start” to the fire season.

A total of four homes 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.

“It's beyond description,” he said. “The dogs didn’t leave my side, it was terrifying.”

Scenes of Destruction and Resilience

Bulahdelah is a frequent rest stop on the Pacific Highway for travelers on their way up the coastal region 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. Helicopters circled above, assisting ground crews who were battling a blaze that had consumed 4,000 hectares since Friday.

Transport vehicles slowed to observe traffic cones and warning signs, the charred eucalypts and ash-covered ground on each side of the highway proof of how far the fire had swept 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 helicopters circling overhead and scent of burning lingering in the air.

A refuelling station for aircraft has been set up at the town’s showground, converting it into a base for around 300 fire crews and volunteers who have travelled from across the state to help.

On Monday afternoon, supplies of water were being unloaded from trucks and sweets were being packed into zip lock bags. One firefighter estimated that they needed a bottle of water every 20 minutes when on the active fire ground.

First-Hand Stories from the Blaze

Billows 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 boundary post outside a destroyed home, a charred teddy bear remained attached to the log, complete with a Christmas hat.

Further along, Morgan sat on his porch with his two dogs, a small area of green surrounding his house the sole remnant 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 fire’s going to hit”. His estimate was spot on.

“We doused the buildings and shed down, sprayed the fence line,” he said, and then his reaction turned to “alarm”. “I said to myself, ‘this is overwhelming’,” he said. “I decided to stay.”

Thankfully, firefighters surrounded the house, and managed to save it. The bushfire passed over in about half an hour, with a sound resembling “a roaring flame”.

An Environment Altered

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

“We used to get rain every week,” he said. “We’ve never had fires like this. 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 largely survived 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 pretty scary then, but the wind changed.

“The dryness is extreme now. Flames emerged on all sides, and the firies pretty much saved 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 see people on the news say, ‘I can’t believe how fast it came’,” he said. “It seems distant, and all of a sudden it's upon 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, public information officer for the NSW Rural Fire Service, said crews from various services had come from “right up and down the coast” to help with the containment effort and had done an “outstanding 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. “But we’re definitely not out of the woods yet.

“There have been instances of the Pacific Highway closing and reopening a few times, the fire spot across the road. It remains uncontained, it is expected to spread.”

Channon said efforts in the coming hours would center on the small community of Nerong, which was expected to be hit by the highway fire on Monday evening. Residents had been urged to evacuate if unprepared, and have a fire plan.

“Little fires are starting from storm activity a few days ago,” she said.

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