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As Garry Morgan returned to his property on the end of the week, his home on the coastal fringe was enveloped in a massive cloud of smoke. Less than twenty-four hours later, two houses on his street were destroyed, and the surrounding forest was transformed into a scorched landscape.

A Town Grappling with Loss

The township of Bulahdelah, around 235km north of Sydney, has become at the centre of a tragedy after a veteran firefighter lost his life on Sunday evening when he was struck by a collapsing tree. This signals a “foreboding start” 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.

“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 frequent rest stop on the Pacific Highway for travelers journeying up the coastal region to coastal destinations such as Seal Rocks, Forster and Port Macquarie.

On Monday afternoon, the highway south of town was covered by thick, orange smoke. Aircraft conducting water drops circled above, assisting ground crews who were attempting to quash a fire that had consumed 4,000 hectares since Friday.

Passing trucks reduced speed for traffic cones and reduce-speed signs, the blackened gum trees and charred grass on each side of the highway proof 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.

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 hanging in the atmosphere.

A fuel depot for aircraft has been set up at the town’s showground, transforming it into a hub for around 300 emergency personnel who have travelled from across the state to help.

On Monday afternoon, water bottles 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 frontline.

First-Hand Stories from the Blaze

Clouds of smoke were continuing to emit from spots of embers 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 burnt property, a scorched stuffed toy remained attached to the log, still wearing a Christmas hat.

Down the road, Morgan sat on his porch with his two dogs, a little patch of grass surrounding his house the only remaining sign of how the landscape used to look. Miraculously, his property was spared, 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 blaze will arrive”. His estimate was spot on.

“We doused the buildings and shed down, sprayed the fence line,” he said, and then his reaction turned to “panic”. “I said to myself, ‘this is overwhelming’,” he said. “But I refused to leave.”

Thankfully, firefighters surrounded the house, and succeeded in defending it. The bushfire moved through in about half an hour, sounding like “a thunderous blaze”.

An Environment Altered

Morgan, who has lived in the same house for around 30 years, has never seen the land so dry.

“It once rained 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 looking after his friend’s property which had also mostly been spared Saturday’s blaze, other than a broken headlight 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. “A few years ago a fire almost reached a local ridge and that was pretty scary then, but the wind changed.

“The dryness is extreme now. Flames emerged on all sides, 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 came through in 2019.

“You hear reports say, ‘The speed was unbelievable’,” he said. “It seems distant, and all of a sudden it’s on top of you. I know what it’s like. I told my friend to just get out, and he did.”

Fire Service Update and Continuing Danger

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 assist in the containment effort and had done an “incredible work” protecting houses from being destroyed.

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

“The firefighting community is a close-knit group,” she said. “However, the danger is not over.

“We’ve seen 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 work in the immediate future would focus on the tiny township of Nerong, which was expected to be hit by the highway fire on Monday evening. Authorities advised locals to evacuate if unprepared, and have a fire plan.

“Little fires are igniting from lightning strikes a few days ago,” she said.

“Tomorrow’s weather is the mid-thirties with variable wind, and that has been difficult - wind swirls in the area.”