When Garry Morgan returned to his property on the end of the week, his rural mid-north coast property was surrounded by a “big plume of smoke”. Less than twenty-four hours later, two houses on his street were consumed, and the adjacent bushland would be reduced to charred remnants.
The township of Bulahdelah, approximately 235km north of Sydney, has found itself at the heart of a devastating event after a veteran firefighter lost his life on Sunday evening when he was struck by a collapsing tree. This marks a “foreboding start” to the fire season.
Four structures 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 canine companions remained close, it was terrifying.”
Bulahdelah is a popular stopover on the Pacific Highway for travelers 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 shrouded in dense, ochre-hazed smoke. Aircraft conducting water drops hovered overhead, assisting firefighters on the ground who were working to contain a fire that had scorched 4,000 hectares since Friday.
Heavy vehicles reduced speed for traffic cones and warning signs, the charred eucalypts and charred grass on each side of the highway evidence of how far the fire had swept through the adjacent Myall Lakes national park. It remained at a 'watch and act' alert level on Monday evening.
In Bulahdelah, though, it would appear as a typical day if not for the aircraft overhead and scent of burning hanging in the atmosphere.
A fuel depot 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, cartons of water were being offloaded from trucks and sweets were being packed into zip lock bags. One firefighter estimated that they needed a water bottle every 20 minutes when on the fire line.
Clouds of smoke were continuing to emit 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 charred teddy bear remained attached to the log, complete with a Christmas hat.
Down the road, 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 saved, despite his neighbor's home 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 fire’s going to hit”. His timing was precise.
“We hosed down the property and shed down, wet the perimeter,” 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, firefighters surrounded the house, and succeeded in defending it. The bushfire passed over in about half an hour, with a sound resembling “a roaring flame”.
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’ve got to take the good with the bad.”
On the same street, Jeff Curley was caring for 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 approached a nearby ridge and that was quite frightening 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 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, ‘I can’t believe how fast it came’,” he said. “You think it’s over there, and suddenly it surrounds you. I know what it’s like. I told my friend to evacuate immediately, and he did.”
Kirsty Channon, spokesperson for the NSW Rural Fire Service, said crews from various services had come from “across the coastal region” to help with the containment effort and had done an “outstanding job” saving properties from being destroyed.
She said all agencies had “worked as one” after the tragic loss of one of their own.
“The firefighting community is a close-knit group,” she said. “However, the danger is not over.
“We’ve seen the Pacific Highway open and close 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 tiny township of Nerong, which was anticipated to be impacted by the highway fire on Monday evening. Authorities advised locals to evacuate if unprepared, and have a fire plan.
“Small blazes are popping up from storm activity a few days ago,” she said.
“Tomorrow’s weather is the mid-thirties with variable wind, and that’s been challenge - wind changes direction in the area.”
Mira is a seasoned gaming analyst with over a decade of experience in the online casino industry, specializing in slot mechanics and player strategies.
