'It Came from Everywhere': New South Wales Town Counts the Cost Following Bushfire Hits.

As Garry Morgan returned to his property on Friday afternoon, his home on the coastal fringe was surrounded by a massive cloud of smoke. Less than twenty-four hours later, two dwellings on his street would be lost, and the surrounding forest was transformed into blackened skeletal remains.

A Town Grappling with Loss

The township of Bulahdelah, around 235km north of Sydney, has found itself at the heart of a devastating event after a experienced firefighter lost his life on Sunday evening when he was hit by a falling tree. This represents a ominous beginning to the wildfire period.

Four properties 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.

“Words fail to capture it,” Morgan stated. “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 travelers 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 dense, ochre-hazed smoke. Water-bombing helicopters circled above, assisting ground crews who were attempting to quash a blaze that had consumed 4,000 hectares since Friday.

Transport vehicles reduced speed for road markers and warning signs, the scorched trees and charred grass on each side of the highway evidence 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.

The Nerve Centre for Firefighting

In Bulahdelah, though, it would seem like a typical 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 central point for around 300 firefighters and volunteers who have come from across the state to help.

On Monday afternoon, water bottles 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.

Personal Accounts from the Fireground

Plumes of smoke were still rising from smoldering patches on Emu Creek Road, a meandering country road that hugs a creek bed south of the township where two houses were lost.

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

Further along, Morgan was on his veranda with his two dogs, a little patch of grass surrounding his house the sole remnant of how the landscape used to look. Miraculously, his property was saved, despite his neighbour’s burning to the ground.

He recalled receiving a call from a friend at lunchtime on Saturday, telling him “you’ve got about half an hour and then a blaze will arrive”. His estimate was spot on.

“We doused the buildings and shed down, wet the perimeter,” he said, and then his reaction turned to “panic”. “I thought, ‘what have I gotten 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, sounding like “a roaring flame”.

An Environment Altered

Morgan, who has resided at 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. “This intensity is new. 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 damaged light on a car and a barrel of firewood stored for winter that had been reduced to ashes.

“I’ve been here many, many times,” he said. “A few years ago 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 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 see people on the news say, ‘The speed was unbelievable’,” he said. “It seems distant, and suddenly it's upon you. I understand the feeling. 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 “pulled together” after the death of one of their own.

“Firefighters is a close-knit group,” she said. “The threat persists.

“There have been instances of the Pacific Highway closing and reopening a few times, the fire jump backwards and forwards. It’s still not contained, it will continue to grow.”

Channon said work in the immediate future would focus on the small community of Nerong, which was anticipated to be impacted by the highway fire on Monday evening. Residents had been urged to evacuate if unprepared, and have a fire plan.

“Little fires are starting from storm activity a few days ago,” she said.

“Tomorrow’s weather is the mid-thirties with shifting winds, and that’s been challenge - wind swirls in the area.”