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As Garry Morgan arrived home on Friday afternoon, his rural mid-north coast property was enveloped in a massive cloud of smoke. Within twenty-four hours later, two houses on his street were consumed, and the adjacent bushland 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 lost his life on Sunday evening when he was hit by a collapsing tree. This represents a “foreboding start” to the fire season.

A total of four homes have been lost in the broader 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,” he said. “My dogs stayed right by me, the fear was palpable.”

Landscapes of Loss and Fortitude

Bulahdelah is a common pause on the Pacific Highway for holidaymakers on their way up the mid-north coast 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, assisting ground crews who were working to contain a fire that had consumed 4,000 hectares since Friday.

Transport vehicles reduced speed for road markers and warning signs, the blackened gum trees and ash-covered ground on each side of the highway evidence of how far the fire had swept through the adjacent Myall Lakes national park. It was still at a watch and act level on Monday evening.

A Hub of Emergency Response

In Bulahdelah, though, it would appear as another ordinary day if not for the aircraft overhead and acrid odor lingering in the air.

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

On Monday afternoon, supplies of water were being offloaded 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 fire line.

First-Hand Stories from the Blaze

Plumes of smoke were continuing to emit from glowing hotspots on Emu Creek Road, a winding rural street that follows 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, complete with a Christmas hat.

Nearby, Morgan was on his veranda with his two dogs, a little patch of grass surrounding his house the sole remnant of how the area once appeared. Against the odds, 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 have roughly 30 minutes and then a fire’s going to hit”. His timing was precise.

“We doused the buildings and shed down, sprayed the fence line,” he said, and then his reaction turned to “panic”. “I said to myself, ‘what have I gotten into’,” he said. “But I wasn’t leaving.”

Thankfully, crews protected the home, and managed to save it. The bushfire passed over in about half an hour, with a sound resembling “a roaring flame”.

A Landscape Transformed

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

“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 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 quite frightening then, but the wind changed.

“The conditions are far more arid now. Flames emerged on all sides, and the firefighters essentially protected 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, ‘The speed was unbelievable’,” 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, public information officer for the NSW Rural Fire Service, said crews from multiple agencies had come from “across the coastal region” to help with the firefighting operation and had done an “outstanding job” protecting houses from being destroyed.

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

“The firefighting community 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 jump backwards and forwards. 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 anticipated to be impacted by the Pacific Highway blaze on Monday evening. Residents had been urged to evacuate if unprepared, and have a fire plan.

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

“The forecast is mid 30s with shifting winds, and that’s been challenge - wind swirls in the area.”