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As Garry Morgan arrived home on Friday afternoon, his rural mid-north coast property was encircled by a massive cloud of smoke. Less than twenty-four hours later, two dwellings on his street were consumed, and the adjacent bushland became blackened skeletal remains.

A Town Grappling with Loss

The community of Bulahdelah, around 235km north of Sydney, has found itself at the heart of a devastating event after a long-serving firefighter died on Sunday evening when he was hit by a collapsing tree. This signals a “foreboding start” to the bushfire season.

Four structures have been destroyed 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.

“No words can express it,” Morgan stated. “The dogs didn’t leave my side, it was frightening.”

Landscapes of Loss and Fortitude

Bulahdelah is a common pause on the Pacific Highway for holidaymakers 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. Helicopters circled above, aiding ground crews who were working to contain a blaze that had burnt 4,000 hectares since Friday.

Passing trucks slowed to observe traffic cones and warning signs, the blackened gum trees and ash-covered ground on each side of the highway evidence of how far the fire had ravaged the adjacent Myall Lakes national park. It remained at a watch and act level on Monday evening.

A Hub of Emergency Response

In Bulahdelah, though, it would seem like another ordinary day if not for the aircraft overhead and acrid odor hanging in the atmosphere.

A fuel depot for aircraft has been set up at the town’s showground, converting it into a hub for around 300 emergency personnel 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 fire line.

Personal Accounts from the Fireground

Clouds of smoke were continuing to emit from glowing hotspots 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 burnt property, a charred teddy bear remained pinned to the log, complete with a Christmas hat.

Further along, Morgan sat on his porch 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 saved, despite his neighbor's home burning to the ground.

He remembered receiving a call from a friend at lunchtime on Saturday, warning him “you’ve got about half an hour and then a blaze will arrive”. His prediction was accurate.

“We doused the buildings and shed down, wet the perimeter,” he said, and then his reaction turned to “alarm”. “I thought, ‘what the hell have I got myself into’,” he said. “But I refused to leave.”

Fortunately, crews protected the home, and succeeded in defending it. The bushfire passed over in about half an hour, sounding like “a roaring inferno”.

A Landscape Transformed

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

“It once rained 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 caring for his friend’s property which had also largely survived 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 pretty scary then, but the wind changed.

“The dryness is extreme now. Flames emerged on all sides, and the firefighters essentially protected it [the property].”

This was not a novel situation for Curley, who nearly lost his home in Wattle Grove when fires came through in 2019.

“You see people on the news say, ‘The speed was unbelievable’,” he said. “You think it’s over there, 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.”

Fire Service Update and Continuing Danger

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 “amazing job” saving properties from being destroyed.

She said all agencies had “pulled together” 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’s still not contained, it will continue to grow.”

Channon said efforts in the coming hours would center on the small community of Nerong, which was expected to be hit by the Pacific Highway blaze on Monday evening. Residents had been urged to leave if not prepared, and have a fire plan.

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

“The forecast is the mid-thirties with variable wind, and that’s been challenge - wind changes direction in the area.”