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When Garry Morgan arrived home on the end of the week, his home on the coastal fringe was surrounded by a massive cloud of smoke. Within twenty-four hours later, a pair of homes on his street would be lost, and the adjacent bushland would be reduced to a scorched landscape.

A Community at the Centre of Tragedy

The township of Bulahdelah, approximately 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 marks a ominous beginning to the wildfire period.

Four structures have been destroyed in the wider Bulahdelah area, comprising two on Emu Creek Road, the residence of Garry Morgan, 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 holidaymakers on their way up the mid-north coast to coastal destinations such as Seal Rocks, Forster and Port Macquarie.

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

Transport vehicles slowed to observe road markers 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 burnt through the adjacent Myall Lakes national park. It remained at a watch and act level on Monday evening.

A Hub of Emergency Response

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

A refuelling station for aircraft has been established at the town’s showground, turning it into a base for around 300 firefighters and volunteers who have come from across the state to help.

On Monday afternoon, water bottles were being offloaded from trucks and lollies were being packaged into zip lock bags. One firefighter noted that they needed a water bottle every 20 minutes when on the fire line.

Personal Accounts from the Fireground

Clouds of smoke were still rising from glowing hotspots on Emu Creek Road, a winding rural street that hugs a creek bed south of the township where two houses were lost.

On a fence post outside a destroyed home, a charred teddy bear remained attached to the log, complete with a Christmas hat.

Nearby, Morgan sat on his porch with his two dogs, a small area of green surrounding his house the sole remnant of how the area once appeared. Miraculously, his property was saved, despite his neighbor's home burning to the ground.

He remembered receiving a call from a friend at lunchtime on Saturday, telling him “you have roughly 30 minutes and then a blaze will arrive”. His timing was precise.

“We sprayed the house and shed down, sprayed the fence line,” he said, and then his reaction turned to “alarm”. “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, with a sound resembling “a thunderous blaze”.

A Landscape Transformed

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

“We used to get rain every week,” he said. “Fires of this magnitude are unprecedented. But you must accept the challenges with the rewards.”

On the same street, Jeff Curley was caring for his friend’s property which had also largely survived Saturday’s blaze, other than 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 reached a local ridge and that was pretty scary then, but the wind changed.

“The conditions are far more arid now. The fire approached from all directions, and the firies 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 came through in 2019.

“You see people on the news say, ‘I can’t believe how fast it came’,” he said. “You think it’s over there, 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.”

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 firefighting operation and had done an “incredible work” saving properties from being destroyed.

She said all agencies had “pulled together” 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 work in the immediate future would center on the tiny township of Nerong, which was expected to be hit by the Pacific Highway blaze on Monday evening. Authorities advised locals to evacuate if unprepared, and have a fire plan.

“Small blazes are starting from storm activity a few days ago,” she said.

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