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When Garry Morgan arrived home on Friday afternoon, his rural mid-north coast property was surrounded by a “big plume of smoke”. Less than twenty-four hours later, a pair of homes on his street would be lost, and the surrounding forest would be reduced to charred remnants.

A Community at the Centre of Tragedy

The community of Bulahdelah, approximately 235km north of Sydney, has found itself at the heart of a tragedy after a long-serving firefighter died on Sunday evening when he was hit by a falling tree. This signals a “foreboding start” to the wildfire period.

Four properties 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.

“No words can express it,” Morgan stated. “My dogs stayed right by me, it was frightening.”

Scenes of Destruction and Resilience

Bulahdelah is a frequent rest stop 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 blanketed in dense, ochre-hazed smoke. Aircraft conducting water drops circled above, assisting ground crews who were attempting to quash a blaze that had consumed 4,000 hectares since Friday.

Passing trucks reduced speed for road markers and reduce-speed signs, the blackened gum trees 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 remained at a 'watch and act' alert level on Monday evening.

The Nerve Centre for Firefighting

In Bulahdelah, though, it would appear as a typical day if not for the helicopters circling overhead and scent of burning hanging in the atmosphere.

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 come from across the state to help.

On Monday afternoon, cartons of water were being offloaded from trucks and sweets were being packed 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

Billows of smoke were still rising 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 fence post outside a burnt property, a scorched stuffed toy 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 only remaining sign of how the area once appeared. Miraculously, his property was spared, despite his neighbour’s 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 prediction was accurate.

“We doused the buildings and shed down, wet the perimeter,” he said, and then his reaction turned to “alarm”. “I thought, ‘what have I gotten into’,” he said. “I decided to stay.”

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

An Environment Altered

Morgan, who has resided at the same house for around 30 years, has not witnessed the land this parched.

“It once rained rain every week,” he said. “We’ve never had fires like this. But you must accept the challenges with the rewards.”

On the same street, Jeff Curley was looking after his friend’s property which had also largely survived Saturday’s blaze, other than a damaged light on a car and a container of wood stored for winter that had been reduced to ashes.

“I am very familiar with this area,” he said. “Previously a fire almost reached a local ridge and that was pretty scary 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 was not a novel situation for Curley, who came close to losing his home in Wattle Grove when fires swept 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 surrounds you. I understand the feeling. I told my friend to evacuate immediately, and he did.”

Official Response and Ongoing Threat

Kirsty Channon, spokesperson for the NSW Rural Fire Service, said crews from multiple agencies had come from “across the coastal region” to assist in the firefighting operation and had done an “amazing job” saving properties from being destroyed.

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

“Firefighters is one big family,” 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’s still not contained, it is expected to spread.”

Channon said efforts in the coming hours would focus on the small community of Nerong, which was expected to be hit 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 shifting winds, and that has been difficult - wind changes direction in the area.”