As a local resident arrived home on the end of the week, his rural mid-north coast property was surrounded by a “big plume of smoke”. Within twenty-four hours later, a pair of homes on his street would be lost, and the adjacent bushland would be reduced to blackened skeletal remains.
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 falling tree. This represents a “foreboding start” to the bushfire season.
A total of four homes have been lost in the broader Bulahdelah area, including 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 terrifying.”
Bulahdelah is a frequent rest stop on the Pacific Highway for tourists 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 covered by dense, ochre-hazed smoke. Water-bombing helicopters circled above, assisting ground crews who were working to contain a fire that had burnt 4,000 hectares since Friday.
Heavy vehicles slowed to observe road markers and reduce-speed signs, the scorched trees and charred grass on each side of the highway evidence 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.
In Bulahdelah, though, it would seem like another ordinary 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, turning it into a central point for around 300 fire crews and volunteers who have come from across the state to help.
On Monday afternoon, water bottles 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.
Plumes 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 boundary post outside a destroyed home, a charred teddy bear remained pinned to the log, complete with a Christmas hat.
Further along, Morgan was on his veranda with his two dogs, a small area of green surrounding his house the only remaining sign of how the area once appeared. Miraculously, his property was saved, 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 fire’s going to hit”. His timing was precise.
“We hosed down the property and shed down, wet the perimeter,” he said, and then his reaction turned to “alarm”. “I said to myself, ‘what have I gotten into’,” he said. “I decided to stay.”
Fortunately, crews protected the home, and managed to save it. The bushfire moved through in about half an hour, sounding like “a roaring inferno”.
Morgan, who has resided at the same house for around 30 years, has never seen the land this parched.
“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 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. “Previously a fire almost reached a local ridge and that was quite frightening then, but the wind changed.
“It’s just so much drier this time. It came from everywhere, and the firefighters pretty much saved it [the property].”
This experience wasn’t new for Curley, who nearly lost his home in Wattle Grove when fires came 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 suddenly it’s on top of you. I know what it’s like. I told my friend to just get out, and he did.”
Kirsty Channon, spokesperson 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 “outstanding job” saving properties from being destroyed.
She said all agencies had “united” after the tragic loss of one of their own.
“Firefighters is a close-knit group,” she said. “But we’re definitely not out of the woods yet.
“There have been instances of the Pacific Highway open and close a few times, the fire spot across the road. It remains uncontained, it is expected to spread.”
Channon said efforts in the coming hours would focus on the tiny township of Nerong, which was expected to be hit by the highway fire on Monday evening. Authorities advised locals 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 swirls in the area.”
Elara is a passionate writer and photographer who shares insights on creativity and mindful living through engaging storytelling.
