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As Garry Morgan arrived home on the end of the week, his rural mid-north coast property was enveloped in a massive cloud of smoke. Within twenty-four hours later, two houses on his street were consumed, and the adjacent bushland became charred remnants.

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 lost his life on Sunday evening when he was hit by a falling tree. This represents a “foreboding start” to the bushfire season.

Four properties 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. “My dogs stayed right by me, it was terrifying.”

Landscapes of Loss and Fortitude

Bulahdelah is a frequent rest stop 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 covered by dense, ochre-hazed smoke. Aircraft conducting water drops circled above, aiding firefighters on the ground who were working to contain a blaze that had scorched 4,000 hectares since Friday.

Transport vehicles reduced speed for traffic cones and reduce-speed signs, the blackened gum trees and ash-covered ground on each side of the highway a stark reminder of how far the fire had swept through the adjacent Myall Lakes national park. It remained at a 'watch and act' alert level on Monday evening.

The Nerve Centre for Firefighting

In Bulahdelah, though, it would appear as another ordinary day if not for the helicopters circling overhead and smell of smoke hanging in the atmosphere.

A refueling point for aircraft has been set up at the town’s showground, converting it into a base for around 300 fire crews and volunteers who have come 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 active fire ground.

First-Hand Stories from the Blaze

Billows of smoke were still rising from spots of embers on Emu Creek Road, a meandering country road that hugs 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 attached to the log, complete with 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 landscape used to look. 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, telling him “you’ve got about half an hour and then a fire’s going to hit”. His estimate was spot on.

“We doused the buildings and shed down, sprayed the fence line,” 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, firefighters surrounded the house, and managed to save it. The bushfire passed over in about half an hour, with a sound resembling “a roaring flame”.

An Environment Altered

Morgan, who has lived in the same house for around 30 years, has not witnessed the land in such a dry state.

“We used to get 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 caring for 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’ve been here many, many times,” he said. “A few years ago a fire almost approached a nearby ridge and that was pretty scary then, but the wind changed.

“The conditions are far more arid now. It came from everywhere, and the firefighters essentially protected it [the property].”

This experience wasn’t new for Curley, who came close to losing his home in Wattle Grove when fires came through in 2019.

“You hear reports say, ‘The speed was unbelievable’,” he said. “It seems distant, and all of a sudden it’s on top of you. I know what it’s like. I told my friend to evacuate immediately, and he did.”

Official Response and Ongoing Threat

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 firefighting operation and had done an “outstanding job” protecting houses from being destroyed.

She said all agencies had “worked as one” after the death 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 closing and reopening a few times, the fire jump backwards and forwards. 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 Pacific Highway blaze on Monday evening. Authorities advised locals to leave if not prepared, 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.”