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When Garry Morgan returned to his property on Friday afternoon, his rural mid-north coast property was enveloped in a “big plume of smoke”. Within twenty-four hours later, a pair of homes on his street would be lost, and the nearby woodland became charred remnants.

A Town Grappling with Loss

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

Four structures have been lost in the broader 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. “My dogs stayed right by me, the fear was palpable.”

Scenes of Destruction and Resilience

Bulahdelah is a common pause on the Pacific Highway for tourists 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 covered by dense, ochre-hazed smoke. Helicopters circled above, aiding firefighters on the ground who were attempting to quash a fire that had scorched 4,000 hectares since Friday.

Transport vehicles slowed to observe road markers and warning signs, the scorched trees 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 was still at a 'watch and act' alert level on Monday evening.

A Hub of Emergency Response

In Bulahdelah, though, it would appear as a typical day if not for the aircraft overhead and scent of burning lingering in the air.

A refueling point for aircraft has been set up at the town’s showground, turning 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 unloaded from trucks and sweets were being packed into zip lock bags. One firefighter noted that they needed a water bottle every 20 minutes when on the frontline.

First-Hand Stories from the Blaze

Billows of smoke were still rising from smoldering patches 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 charred teddy bear remained pinned to the log, still wearing a Christmas hat.

Nearby, Morgan sat on his porch 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 saved, despite his neighbour’s burning to the ground.

He recalled receiving a call from a friend at lunchtime on Saturday, warning him “you’ve got about half an hour and then a blaze will arrive”. 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 the hell have I got myself into’,” he said. “I decided to stay.”

Thankfully, crews protected the home, and managed to save it. The bushfire moved through in about half an hour, sounding like “a roaring inferno”.

A Landscape Transformed

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

“It once rained 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, except for a broken headlight on a car and a barrel of firewood stored for winter that had been reduced to ashes.

“I am very familiar with this area,” he said. “Previously a fire almost approached a nearby ridge and that was pretty scary then, but the wind changed.

“The dryness is extreme 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 swept through in 2019.

“You hear reports say, ‘The speed was unbelievable’,” he said. “You think it’s over there, and all of a sudden it’s on top of you. I know what it’s like. I told my friend to just get out, and he did.”

Fire Service Update and Continuing Danger

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” protecting houses from being destroyed.

She said all agencies had “united” after the death of one of their own.

“The firefighting community 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 efforts in the coming hours would focus 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 prepare a bushfire survival plan.

“Spot fires are popping up from storm activity 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.”