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As a local resident arrived home on the end of the week, his home on the coastal fringe was enveloped in a “big plume of smoke”. Within twenty-four hours later, two dwellings on his street were consumed, and the surrounding forest became blackened skeletal remains.

A Town Grappling with Loss

The township of Bulahdelah, around 235km north of Sydney, has become at the centre of a tragedy after a experienced firefighter died on Sunday evening when he was hit by a collapsing tree. This signals a “foreboding start” to the fire season.

A total of four homes have been lost in the wider Bulahdelah area, including two on Emu Creek Road, where Morgan lives, one on the Pacific Highway and one south of the township.

“It's beyond description,” Morgan stated. “My dogs stayed right by me, it was terrifying.”

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 coastal destinations such as Seal Rocks, Forster and Port Macquarie.

On Monday afternoon, the highway south of town was blanketed in thick, orange smoke. Aircraft conducting water drops hovered overhead, aiding firefighters on the ground who were working to contain a blaze that had consumed 4,000 hectares since Friday.

Heavy vehicles slowed to observe traffic cones and reduce-speed signs, the charred eucalypts and ash-covered ground 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 level on Monday evening.

A Hub of Emergency Response

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 refuelling station for aircraft has been established at the town’s showground, turning it into a central point for around 300 emergency personnel who have travelled 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 fire line.

Personal Accounts from the Fireground

Billows of smoke were continuing to emit from smoldering patches on Emu Creek Road, a winding rural street 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 attached to the log, complete with a Christmas hat.

Down the road, Morgan was on his veranda with his two dogs, a small area of green surrounding his house the sole remnant of how the area once appeared. Against the odds, 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 prediction was accurate.

“We sprayed the house and shed down, sprayed the fence line,” he said, and then his reaction turned to “panic”. “I said to myself, ‘what have I gotten into’,” he said. “But I wasn’t leaving.”

Fortunately, firefighters surrounded the house, and managed to save it. The bushfire moved through in about half an hour, with a sound resembling “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.

“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 caring for his friend’s property which had also largely survived Saturday’s blaze, other than a damaged light on a car and a container of wood stored for winter that had burnt to ash.

“I’ve been here many, many times,” 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. Flames emerged on all sides, and the firies pretty much saved 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, ‘I can’t believe how fast it came’,” he said. “It seems distant, and suddenly it's upon you. I know what it’s like. 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 assist in the containment effort and had done an “incredible work” saving properties from being destroyed.

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

“Firefighters is one big family,” she said. “However, the danger is not over.

“There have been instances of the Pacific Highway closing and reopening a few times, the fire spot across the road. It’s still not contained, it is expected to spread.”

Channon said work in the immediate future would center 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 have a fire plan.

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

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