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As a local resident returned to his property on the end of the week, his rural mid-north coast property was enveloped in a dense smoke column. Within twenty-four hours later, two dwellings on his street were consumed, and the nearby woodland became 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 tragedy after a experienced firefighter died on Sunday evening when he was hit by a collapsing tree. This signals a ominous beginning to the wildfire period.

A total of four homes have been lost in the broader 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,” he said. “My canine companions remained close, it was terrifying.”

Landscapes of Loss and Fortitude

Bulahdelah is a frequent rest stop on the Pacific Highway for tourists 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 thick, orange smoke. Aircraft conducting water drops hovered overhead, assisting firefighters on the ground who were working to contain a fire that had burnt 4,000 hectares since Friday.

Transport vehicles slowed to observe road markers and reduce-speed signs, the charred eucalypts and burnt grass on each side of the highway a stark reminder of how far the fire had ravaged 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 seem like another ordinary day if not for the helicopters circling overhead and acrid odor hanging in the atmosphere.

A refuelling station for aircraft has been set up at the town’s showground, converting it into a hub for around 300 fire crews and volunteers 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 fire line.

First-Hand Stories from the Blaze

Billows of smoke were still rising from glowing hotspots 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 destroyed home, a charred teddy bear remained pinned 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. Miraculously, his property was spared, despite his neighbour’s burning to the ground.

He recalled 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 hosed down the property and shed down, sprayed the fence line,” he said, and then his reaction turned to “alarm”. “I thought, ‘what the hell have I got myself into’,” he said. “I decided to stay.”

Fortunately, firefighters surrounded the house, and succeeded in defending it. The bushfire moved through in about half an hour, sounding like “a thunderous blaze”.

A Landscape Transformed

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

“It once rained rain every week,” he said. “This intensity is new. But you’ve got to take the good with the bad.”

On the same street, Jeff Curley was caring for his friend’s property which had also largely survived Saturday’s blaze, except for 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 conditions are far more arid now. Flames emerged on all sides, 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 hear reports say, ‘I can’t believe how fast it came’,” he said. “You think it’s over there, and all of a sudden it surrounds you. I understand the feeling. I told my friend to just get out, and he did.”

Official Response and Ongoing Threat

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 “amazing job” saving properties from being destroyed.

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

“Firefighters is a close-knit group,” she said. “However, the danger is not over.

“There have been instances of the Pacific Highway closing and reopening a few times, the fire jump backwards and forwards. It remains uncontained, 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 Pacific Highway blaze on Monday evening. Residents had been urged to evacuate if unprepared, and have a fire plan.

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

“Tomorrow’s weather is the mid-thirties with shifting winds, and that’s been challenge - wind swirls in the area.”