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As Garry Morgan arrived home on the end of the week, his home on the coastal fringe was surrounded by a “big plume of smoke”. Within twenty-four hours later, two dwellings on his street were consumed, and the nearby woodland was transformed into charred remnants.

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 long-serving firefighter died on Sunday evening when he was struck by a collapsing tree. This marks a worrying commencement to the bushfire season.

Four properties have been lost in the wider 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. “My canine companions remained close, it was frightening.”

Landscapes of Loss and Fortitude

Bulahdelah is a popular stopover on the Pacific Highway for holidaymakers 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 blanketed in dense, ochre-hazed smoke. Helicopters hovered overhead, assisting ground crews who were working to contain a fire that had consumed 4,000 hectares since Friday.

Transport vehicles reduced speed for traffic cones and reduce-speed signs, the charred eucalypts and charred grass on each side of the highway evidence of how far the fire had ravaged 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 helicopters circling overhead and acrid odor lingering in the air.

A refuelling station for aircraft has been set up at the town’s showground, converting it into a hub for around 300 emergency personnel who have travelled from across the state to help.

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

Personal Accounts from the Fireground

Plumes of smoke were still rising from smoldering patches 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 scorched stuffed toy remained pinned to the log, still wearing a Christmas hat.

Down the road, Morgan sat on his porch 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 saved, 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 hosed down the property and shed down, sprayed the fence line,” he said, and then his reaction turned to “panic”. “I said to myself, ‘what the hell have I got myself into’,” he said. “But I refused to leave.”

Fortunately, firefighters surrounded the house, and managed to save it. The bushfire moved through in about half an hour, with a sound resembling “a roaring inferno”.

A Landscape Transformed

Morgan, who has resided at the same house for around 30 years, has not witnessed the land in such a dry state.

“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 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. “Previously a fire almost approached a nearby ridge and that was pretty scary then, but the wind changed.

“The dryness is extreme now. It came from everywhere, and the firefighters 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 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 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 multiple agencies had come from “across the coastal region” to help with the firefighting operation and had done an “amazing job” saving properties from being destroyed.

She said all agencies had “worked as one” 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.

“We’ve seen the Pacific Highway closing and reopening a few times, the fire spot across the road. It remains uncontained, it will continue to grow.”

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. Residents had been urged to evacuate if unprepared, and prepare a bushfire survival plan.

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

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