🔗 Share this article

When Garry Morgan arrived home on Friday afternoon, his rural mid-north coast property was encircled by a “big plume of smoke”. Less than twenty-four hours later, two houses on his street were destroyed, and the nearby woodland would be reduced to blackened skeletal remains.

A Town Grappling with Loss

The township of Bulahdelah, around 235km north of Sydney, has found itself at the heart of a devastating event after a experienced firefighter lost his life on Sunday evening when he was hit by a collapsing tree. This marks a worrying commencement to the bushfire season.

Four structures have been lost in the wider Bulahdelah area, including two on Emu Creek Road, the residence of Garry Morgan, one on the Pacific Highway and one south of the township.

“It's beyond description,” Morgan stated. “My dogs stayed right by me, it was frightening.”

Scenes of Destruction and Resilience

Bulahdelah is a popular stopover 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 hovered overhead, aiding firefighters on the ground who were attempting to quash a fire that had consumed 4,000 hectares since Friday.

Transport vehicles slowed to observe traffic cones and reduce-speed signs, the charred eucalypts and burnt grass on each side of the highway a stark reminder of how far the fire had ravaged the adjacent Myall Lakes national park. It was still at a watch and act level on Monday evening.

The Nerve Centre for Firefighting

In Bulahdelah, though, it would appear as another ordinary day if not for the aircraft overhead and smell of smoke hanging in the atmosphere.

A refuelling station for aircraft has been established at the town’s showground, converting it into a base for around 300 firefighters 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 noted that they needed a bottle of water every 20 minutes when on the active fire ground.

First-Hand Stories from the Blaze

Plumes 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 fence post outside a burnt property, a charred teddy bear remained attached to the log, complete with 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 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, telling him “you’ve got about half an hour and then a blaze will arrive”. His estimate was spot on.

“We sprayed the house and shed down, wet the perimeter,” he said, and then his reaction turned to “alarm”. “I said to myself, ‘what the hell have I got myself into’,” he said. “I decided to stay.”

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

An Environment Altered

Morgan, who has lived in the same house for around 30 years, has not witnessed 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 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 am very familiar with this area,” he said. “Previously a fire almost approached a nearby ridge and that was quite frightening then, but the wind changed.

“It’s just so much drier this time. The fire approached from all directions, and the firefighters pretty much saved it [the property].”

This experience wasn’t new for Curley, who came close to losing 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. “It seems distant, and all of a sudden it's upon you. I know what it’s like. 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 “incredible work” saving properties from being destroyed.

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

“Firefighters is one big family,” 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 is expected to spread.”

Channon said efforts in the coming hours would focus on the tiny township of Nerong, which was anticipated to be impacted by the highway fire on Monday evening. Authorities advised locals to leave if not prepared, and prepare a bushfire survival plan.

“Small blazes are igniting from lightning strikes a few days ago,” she said.

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