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When Garry Morgan arrived home on Friday afternoon, his home on the coastal fringe was enveloped in a dense smoke column. Within twenty-four hours later, two houses on his street were consumed, and the nearby woodland would be reduced to blackened skeletal remains.

A Town Grappling with Loss

The community of Bulahdelah, around 235km north of Sydney, has found itself at the heart of a devastating event after a long-serving firefighter died on Sunday evening when he was struck by a falling tree. This marks a ominous beginning to the wildfire period.

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.

“No words can express it,” he said. “My dogs stayed right by me, the fear was palpable.”

Scenes of Destruction and Resilience

Bulahdelah is a popular stopover on the Pacific Highway for tourists on their way up the coastal region 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. Water-bombing helicopters hovered overhead, aiding ground crews who were working to contain a fire that had burnt 4,000 hectares since Friday.

Transport vehicles slowed to observe traffic cones and warning signs, the blackened gum trees and burnt grass on each side of the highway evidence of how far the fire had ravaged the adjacent Myall Lakes national park. It was still at a 'watch and act' alert 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 scent of burning lingering in the air.

A refueling point for aircraft has been set up at the town’s showground, converting it into a central point for around 300 firefighters and volunteers who have come from across the state to help.

On Monday afternoon, cartons 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 frontline.

First-Hand Stories from the Blaze

Clouds of smoke were continuing to emit from spots of embers on Emu Creek Road, a winding rural street that follows 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.

Down the road, Morgan sat on his porch with his two dogs, a little patch of grass surrounding his house the sole remnant of how the landscape used to look. Against the odds, his property was saved, despite his neighbour’s 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 blaze will arrive”. His timing was precise.

“We doused the buildings 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. “But I refused to leave.”

Fortunately, firefighters surrounded the house, and managed to save it. The bushfire passed over in about half an hour, with a sound resembling “a roaring flame”.

An Environment Altered

Morgan, who has resided at the same house for around 30 years, has not witnessed the land in such a dry state.

“We used to get 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 mostly been spared Saturday’s blaze, other than a broken headlight 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 reached a local ridge and that was quite frightening then, but the wind changed.

“It’s just so much drier this time. Flames emerged on all sides, and the firies essentially protected it [the property].”

This was not a novel situation for Curley, who came close to losing his home in Wattle Grove when fires came through in 2019.

“You hear reports say, ‘I can’t believe how fast it came’,” he said. “You think it’s over there, and suddenly it’s on top of you. I know what it’s like. I told my friend to evacuate immediately, 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 “across the coastal region” to assist in the containment effort 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.

“Firefighters is a close-knit group,” 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 remains uncontained, it is expected to spread.”

Channon said work in the immediate future would center on the tiny township of Nerong, which was anticipated to be impacted by the highway fire on Monday evening. Residents had been urged to leave if not prepared, and prepare a bushfire survival plan.

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

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