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

A Community at the Centre of Tragedy

The township of Bulahdelah, around 235km north of Sydney, has found itself at the heart of a tragedy after a long-serving firefighter died on Sunday evening when he was hit by a collapsing tree. This represents a “foreboding start” to the wildfire period.

Four structures 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 dogs stayed right by me, it was terrifying.”

Scenes of Destruction and Resilience

Bulahdelah is a frequent rest stop on the Pacific Highway for tourists on their way up the coastal region to coastal destinations such as Seal Rocks, Forster and Port Macquarie.

On Monday afternoon, the highway south of town was covered by thick, orange smoke. Water-bombing helicopters circled above, aiding firefighters on the ground who were battling a fire that had burnt 4,000 hectares since Friday.

Transport vehicles reduced speed for traffic cones and reduce-speed signs, the charred eucalypts and burnt grass on each side of the highway evidence 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.

A Hub of Emergency Response

In Bulahdelah, though, it would seem like a typical day if not for the aircraft overhead and smell of smoke lingering in the air.

A refueling point for aircraft has been established at the town’s showground, transforming it into a base for around 300 firefighters and volunteers who have travelled from across the state to help.

On Monday afternoon, cartons of water were being unloaded from trucks and lollies were being packaged into zip lock bags. One firefighter noted that they needed a bottle of water every 20 minutes when on the frontline.

Personal Accounts from the Fireground

Billows of smoke were still rising from smoldering patches on Emu Creek Road, a winding rural street that hugs 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 attached to the log, still wearing 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 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’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 “panic”. “I thought, ‘what the hell have I got myself into’,” he said. “But I refused to leave.”

Thankfully, crews protected the home, and managed to save it. The bushfire passed over in about half an hour, sounding like “a roaring flame”.

An Environment Altered

Morgan, who has resided at the same house for around 30 years, has never seen the land in such a dry state.

“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 looking after his friend’s property which had also largely survived Saturday’s blaze, except for a damaged light 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 reached a local ridge and that was quite frightening then, but the wind changed.

“The dryness is extreme now. It came from everywhere, and the firies essentially protected it [the property].”

This experience wasn’t new for Curley, who came close to losing his home in Wattle Grove when fires swept 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 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 “right up and down the coast” to help with the containment effort and had done an “outstanding job” protecting houses from being destroyed.

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

“Firefighters is a close-knit group,” 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 anticipated to be impacted by the Pacific Highway blaze on Monday evening. Authorities advised locals to evacuate if unprepared, and prepare a bushfire survival plan.

“Small blazes are starting from lightning strikes a few days ago,” she said.

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