🔗 Share this article

When a local resident returned to his property on the end of the week, his home on the coastal fringe was encircled by a “big plume of smoke”. Less than twenty-four hours later, a pair of homes on his street were consumed, and the adjacent bushland was transformed into blackened skeletal remains.

A Town Grappling with Loss

The community of Bulahdelah, around 235km north of Sydney, has become at the centre of a devastating event after a long-serving firefighter lost his life on Sunday evening when he was struck by a collapsing tree. This signals a worrying commencement to the fire season.

Four properties have been destroyed 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.

“Words fail to capture it,” he said. “The dogs didn’t leave my side, the fear was palpable.”

Landscapes of Loss and Fortitude

Bulahdelah is a common pause on the Pacific Highway for travelers on their way up the mid-north coast to beach areas such as Seal Rocks, Forster and Port Macquarie.

On Monday afternoon, the highway south of town was shrouded in thick, orange smoke. Water-bombing helicopters hovered overhead, assisting firefighters on the ground who were working to contain a blaze that had consumed 4,000 hectares since Friday.

Transport vehicles slowed to observe traffic cones and reduce-speed signs, the scorched trees and burnt grass on each side of the highway a stark reminder 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 appear as a typical day if not for the helicopters circling overhead and scent of burning hanging in the atmosphere.

A refueling point for aircraft has been established at the town’s showground, converting it into a base for around 300 emergency personnel who have come from across the state to help.

On Monday afternoon, supplies 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

Clouds of smoke were continuing to emit from smoldering patches on Emu Creek Road, a meandering country road that follows 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 pinned to the log, still wearing a Christmas hat.

Further along, Morgan sat on his porch with his two dogs, a little patch of grass surrounding his house the only remaining sign of how the landscape used to look. Against the odds, his property was spared, despite his neighbor's home 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 blaze will arrive”. His timing was precise.

“We sprayed the house and shed down, wet the perimeter,” he said, and then his reaction turned to “panic”. “I said to myself, ‘this is overwhelming’,” he said. “But I refused to leave.”

Fortunately, crews protected the home, and managed to save it. The bushfire passed over in about half an hour, with a sound resembling “a thunderous blaze”.

An Environment Altered

Morgan, who has lived in the same house for around 30 years, has never seen the land this parched.

“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 mostly been spared Saturday’s blaze, except for a broken headlight on a car and a barrel of firewood stored for winter that had burnt to ash.

“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 essentially protected 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 hear reports say, ‘The speed was unbelievable’,” he said. “It seems distant, and all of a sudden it surrounds you. I understand the feeling. 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 multiple agencies had come from “across the coastal region” to assist in the containment effort and had done an “outstanding 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. “The threat persists.

“We’ve seen the Pacific Highway open and close a few times, the fire jump backwards and forwards. It’s still not contained, it will continue to grow.”

Channon said efforts in the coming hours would focus 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 prepare a bushfire survival plan.

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

“The forecast is mid 30s with shifting winds, and that has been difficult - wind changes direction in the area.”