When a local resident returned to his property on the end of the week, his rural mid-north coast property was enveloped in a massive cloud of smoke. Within twenty-four hours later, two dwellings on his street were consumed, and the nearby woodland became a scorched landscape.
The township of Bulahdelah, approximately 235km north of Sydney, has found itself at the heart of a tragedy after a long-serving firefighter lost his life on Sunday evening when he was hit by a falling tree. This represents a ominous beginning to the wildfire period.
Four properties have been lost in the wider Bulahdelah area, comprising two on Emu Creek Road, where Morgan lives, one on the Pacific Highway and one south of the township.
“Words fail to capture it,” he said. “My dogs stayed right by me, it was frightening.”
Bulahdelah is a frequent rest stop on the Pacific Highway for holidaymakers 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. Water-bombing helicopters circled above, aiding firefighters on the ground who were battling a blaze that had scorched 4,000 hectares since Friday.
Transport vehicles slowed to observe road markers and warning signs, the charred eucalypts 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' alert level on Monday evening.
In Bulahdelah, though, it would seem like a typical day if not for the helicopters circling overhead and smell of smoke hanging in the atmosphere.
A refuelling station for aircraft has been set up at the town’s showground, transforming it into a base for around 300 emergency personnel 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 water bottle every 20 minutes when on the frontline.
Clouds of smoke were still rising from smoldering patches on Emu Creek Road, a meandering country road that follows 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 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 only remaining sign of how the landscape used to look. Against the odds, his property was saved, 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 estimate was spot on.
“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, firefighters surrounded the house, and succeeded in defending it. The bushfire moved through in about half an hour, sounding like “a roaring inferno”.
Morgan, who has resided at 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 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’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.
“The conditions are far more arid now. It came from everywhere, and the firefighters 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 came through in 2019.
“You see people on the news say, ‘The speed was unbelievable’,” he said. “It seems distant, and all of a sudden it's upon you. I know what it’s like. I told my friend to evacuate immediately, and he did.”
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 firefighting operation and had done an “incredible work” saving properties from being destroyed.
She said all agencies had “worked as one” after the death 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 remains uncontained, 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. Residents had been urged to leave if not prepared, and prepare a bushfire survival plan.
“Spot fires are starting from lightning strikes a few days ago,” she said.
“The forecast is mid 30s with variable wind, and that has been difficult - wind swirls in the area.”
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