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As a local resident arrived home on Friday afternoon, his home on the coastal fringe was enveloped in a “big plume of smoke”. Less than twenty-four hours later, a pair of homes on his street would be lost, and the nearby woodland would be reduced to blackened skeletal remains.

A Community at the Centre of Tragedy

The community 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 signals a worrying commencement to the wildfire period.

Four properties have been lost in the broader Bulahdelah area, comprising two on Emu Creek Road, where Morgan lives, one on the Pacific Highway and one south of the township.

“It's beyond description,” he said. “My canine companions remained close, it was frightening.”

Scenes of Destruction and Resilience

Bulahdelah is a frequent rest stop on the Pacific Highway for travelers journeying up the coastal region to beach areas such as Seal Rocks, Forster and Port Macquarie.

On Monday afternoon, the highway south of town was shrouded in thick, orange smoke. Aircraft conducting water drops hovered overhead, assisting ground crews who were battling a blaze that had scorched 4,000 hectares since Friday.

Transport vehicles reduced speed for road markers and reduce-speed signs, the blackened gum trees and charred grass on each side of the highway a stark reminder of how far the fire had ravaged the adjacent Myall Lakes national park. It remained at a watch and act level on Monday evening.

The Nerve Centre for Firefighting

In Bulahdelah, though, it would seem like another ordinary day if not for the helicopters circling overhead and smell of smoke lingering in the air.

A refueling point for aircraft has been set up at the town’s showground, turning it into a hub for around 300 fire crews and volunteers who have travelled from across the state to help.

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

Personal Accounts from the Fireground

Clouds of smoke were continuing to emit from glowing hotspots 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 scorched stuffed toy remained pinned to the log, still wearing 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 spared, 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 hosed down the property and shed down, wet the perimeter,” he said, and then his reaction turned to “panic”. “I said to myself, ‘this is overwhelming’,” he said. “But I wasn’t leaving.”

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

A Landscape Transformed

Morgan, who has lived in 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’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, except for a damaged light on a car and a barrel of firewood stored for winter that had burnt to ash.

“I’ve been here many, many times,” he said. “Previously a fire almost approached a nearby ridge and that was pretty scary then, but the wind changed.

“The dryness is extreme now. The fire approached from all directions, and the firies pretty much saved it [the property].”

This was not a novel situation for Curley, who came close to losing his home in Wattle Grove when fires swept through in 2019.

“You hear reports say, ‘The speed was unbelievable’,” he said. “It seems distant, and suddenly it surrounds you. I understand the feeling. I told my friend to just get out, and he did.”

Official Response and Ongoing Threat

Kirsty Channon, public information officer for the NSW Rural Fire Service, said crews from various services had come from “right up and down the coast” to help with the firefighting operation and had done an “outstanding job” protecting houses from being destroyed.

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

“The firefighting community is one big family,” she said. “But we’re definitely not out of the woods yet.

“We’ve seen the Pacific Highway closing and reopening 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 prepare a bushfire survival plan.

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

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