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As a local resident arrived home on Friday afternoon, his home on the coastal fringe was encircled by a “big plume of smoke”. Within twenty-four hours later, two houses on his street would be lost, and the surrounding forest became a scorched landscape.

A Community at the Centre of Tragedy

The community of Bulahdelah, approximately 235km north of Sydney, has become at the centre of a tragedy after a experienced firefighter died on Sunday evening when he was struck by a falling tree. This signals a worrying commencement to the wildfire period.

A total of four homes 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 dogs stayed right by me, the fear was palpable.”

Landscapes of Loss and Fortitude

Bulahdelah is a common pause on the Pacific Highway for tourists on their way up the coastal region 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, assisting firefighters on the ground who were working to contain a blaze that had burnt 4,000 hectares since Friday.

Heavy vehicles reduced speed for traffic cones and reduce-speed signs, the scorched trees and burnt grass on each side of the highway evidence of how far the fire had burnt through the adjacent Myall Lakes national park. It was still at a 'watch and act' alert level on Monday evening.

The Nerve Centre for Firefighting

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

A fuel depot for aircraft has been established at the town’s showground, transforming it into a central point 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 fire line.

First-Hand Stories from the Blaze

Billows of smoke were still rising 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 fence post outside a burnt property, a charred teddy bear remained pinned to the log, still wearing a Christmas hat.

Further along, 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 saved, despite his neighbor's home 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 estimate was spot on.

“We doused the buildings and shed down, wet the perimeter,” he said, and then his reaction turned to “alarm”. “I said to myself, ‘this is overwhelming’,” he said. “But I wasn’t leaving.”

Fortunately, firefighters surrounded the house, and succeeded in defending it. The bushfire passed over in about half an hour, with a sound resembling “a roaring inferno”.

A Landscape Transformed

Morgan, who has lived in 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. “This intensity is new. 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 largely survived Saturday’s blaze, except for a broken headlight on a car and a barrel of firewood 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 reached a local 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 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. “You think it’s over there, and suddenly it surrounds you. I understand the feeling. I told my friend to just get out, and he did.”

Fire Service Update and Continuing Danger

Kirsty Channon, spokesperson for the NSW Rural Fire Service, said crews from various services had come from “across the coastal region” to assist in the containment effort and had done an “incredible work” protecting houses from being destroyed.

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

“The firefighting community is a close-knit group,” 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 remains uncontained, it will continue to grow.”

Channon said work in the immediate future would focus on the tiny township of Nerong, which was anticipated to be impacted by the Pacific Highway blaze on Monday evening. Authorities advised locals to evacuate if unprepared, and have a fire plan.

“Little fires are igniting from storm activity a few days ago,” she said.

“Tomorrow’s weather is mid 30s with shifting winds, and that has been difficult - wind changes direction in the area.”