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As a local resident arrived home on the end of the week, his home on the coastal fringe was surrounded by a massive cloud of smoke. Less than twenty-four hours later, two houses on his street would be lost, and the adjacent bushland became blackened skeletal remains.

A Community at the Centre of Tragedy

The township 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 worrying commencement to the fire season.

A total of four homes have been lost in the wider Bulahdelah area, comprising two on Emu Creek Road, where Morgan lives, one on the Pacific Highway and one south of the township.

“No words can express it,” Morgan stated. “The dogs didn’t leave my side, it was frightening.”

Scenes of Destruction and Resilience

Bulahdelah is a frequent rest stop on the Pacific Highway for holidaymakers journeying 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 dense, ochre-hazed smoke. Helicopters hovered overhead, assisting ground crews who were battling a fire that had consumed 4,000 hectares since Friday.

Passing trucks slowed to observe traffic cones and reduce-speed signs, the scorched trees and ash-covered ground 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.

A Hub of Emergency Response

In Bulahdelah, though, it would seem like another ordinary day if not for the helicopters circling overhead and smell of smoke lingering in the air.

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

On Monday afternoon, cartons of water 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 fire line.

First-Hand Stories from the Blaze

Billows of smoke were continuing to emit from spots of embers on Emu Creek Road, a meandering country road that follows a creek bed south of the township where two houses were lost.

On a fence post outside a burnt property, a charred teddy bear remained attached to the log, still wearing a Christmas hat.

Down the road, 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 saved, 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 fire’s going to hit”. His prediction was accurate.

“We doused the buildings and shed down, wet the perimeter,” he said, and then his reaction turned to “panic”. “I thought, ‘this is overwhelming’,” he said. “But I wasn’t leaving.”

Thankfully, crews protected the home, and managed to save it. The bushfire passed over in about half an hour, sounding like “a roaring flame”.

An Environment Altered

Morgan, who has resided at the same house for around 30 years, has never seen the land in such a dry state.

“It once rained 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 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. “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 firefighters essentially protected it [the property].”

This was not a novel situation for Curley, who came close to losing 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. “You think it’s over there, and all of a sudden it’s on top of you. I understand the feeling. I told my friend to just get out, and he did.”

Fire Service Update and Continuing Danger

Kirsty Channon, spokesperson for the NSW Rural Fire Service, said crews from various services had come from “right up and down the coast” to assist in the containment effort and had done an “incredible work” protecting houses from being destroyed.

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

“The firefighting community is one big family,” she said. “However, the danger is not over.

“We’ve seen the Pacific Highway closing and reopening a few times, the fire spot across the road. It’s still not contained, it is expected to spread.”

Channon said efforts in the coming hours would focus on the tiny township of Nerong, which was anticipated to be impacted by the Pacific Highway blaze on Monday evening. Authorities advised locals to evacuate if unprepared, and prepare a bushfire survival plan.

“Little fires are igniting 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.”