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As Garry Morgan returned to his property on Friday afternoon, his rural mid-north coast property was encircled by a dense smoke column. Less than twenty-four hours later, two houses on his street were destroyed, and the adjacent bushland was transformed into blackened skeletal remains.

A Community at the Centre of Tragedy

The community of Bulahdelah, around 235km north of Sydney, has found itself at the heart of a devastating event after a experienced firefighter died on Sunday evening when he was hit by a collapsing tree. This represents a worrying commencement to the bushfire season.

A total of four homes 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. “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 holidaymakers on their way up the coastal region to beach areas such as Seal Rocks, Forster and Port Macquarie.

On Monday afternoon, the highway south of town was shrouded in dense, ochre-hazed smoke. Helicopters circled above, assisting firefighters on the ground who were working to contain a fire that had consumed 4,000 hectares since Friday.

Passing trucks slowed to observe traffic cones and reduce-speed signs, the blackened gum trees and charred grass on each side of the highway proof of how far the fire had burnt through the adjacent Myall Lakes national park. It was still at a 'watch and act' alert level on Monday evening.

A Hub of Emergency Response

In Bulahdelah, though, it would appear as a typical day if not for the aircraft overhead and scent of burning lingering in the air.

A refuelling station for aircraft has been established at the town’s showground, transforming it into a hub for around 300 emergency personnel who have come 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 water bottle every 20 minutes when on the active fire ground.

Personal Accounts from the Fireground

Clouds 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 pinned to the log, complete with a Christmas hat.

Nearby, Morgan sat on his porch with his two dogs, a little patch of grass surrounding his house the only remaining sign of how the area once appeared. Against the odds, his property was spared, 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 timing was precise.

“We doused the buildings and shed down, wet the perimeter,” he said, and then his reaction turned to “panic”. “I said to myself, ‘what the hell have I got myself into’,” he said. “I decided to stay.”

Thankfully, firefighters surrounded the house, and managed to save it. The bushfire moved through in about half an hour, sounding like “a thunderous blaze”.

An Environment Altered

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

“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 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 been reduced to ashes.

“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. The fire approached from all directions, and the firefighters pretty much saved it [the property].”

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

“You see people on the news say, ‘The speed was unbelievable’,” he said. “It seems distant, and all of a sudden it's upon you. I understand the feeling. 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 “right up and down the coast” to assist in the containment effort and had done an “incredible work” saving properties from being destroyed.

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

“The firefighting community is one big family,” she said. “The threat persists.

“There have been instances of the Pacific Highway open and close a few times, the fire spot across the road. It’s still not contained, it is expected to spread.”

Channon said work in the immediate future would focus on the small community 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.

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

“The forecast is mid 30s with variable wind, and that’s been challenge - wind swirls in the area.”