The photos from the fire: ‘You could feel the heat’

An inferno on the Tilligerry Peninsula in Port Stephens has terrified residents and been classified as “unprecedented in this area for this time of year”.

The bush fire tore through an area spanning almost 2000 hectares from Salt Ash to Tanilba Bay.

The NSW Rural Fire Service issued emergency alerts on Saturday and Sunday, as strong winds and tinderbox conditions combined to put property and people in serious danger. 

The fire revived memories of the October 2013 Salt Ash inferno, which destroyed four houses and at least 17 other structures. 

Asked if the weekend’s fire was similar to the 2013 inferno, NSW Rural Fire Service public liaison officer Leanne Bell said: “Yes it is similar”.

“The difference between this one and the one in 2013 is the temperature. They’re out there today fighting fires with beanies and gloves on because it’s so cold. Whereas in 2013, it was really hot,” Ms Bell said.

“I think the fire in 2013 was more intense, but we’re certainly experiencing fire activity and intensity that is unprecedented in this area for this time of year.”

On Sunday afternoon, the RFS advised residents at Salt Ash – in Rookes, Lemon Tree Passage and Brownes roads – to “take shelter in a solid structure to protect themselves from the heat of the fire”. 

“It is too late to leave,” the warning said.

Westerly winds had driven an “increase in fire activity at Salt Ash”.

The RFS further warned of embers being blown “well ahead of the fire, creating spot fires and threatening property before the main fire-front arrives”.

Residents in Tilligerry, Tanilba Bay, Mallabula and Lemon Tree Passage were warned to “monitor the situation closely and be prepared to put your bush-fire survival plan into action”.

Emergency alert telephone messages were sent to people in the area and Lemon Tree Passage Road was closed.

About 4pm, the fire was downgraded from emergency level to “watch and act”.

At this point, Ms Bell said the fire was “being controlled”. 

“We have containment around the whole fire and at this moment in time we have the upper hand on it,” Ms Bell said.

She said a caravan was destroyed at Tilligerry Golf Club on Saturday night.

“We’re waiting to hear back from the impact assessment team to see if there was any damage to houses, sheds, outbuildings and things like that,” she said.

The cause of the fire was being investigated.

The fire began to cause serious alarm on Saturday afternoon when the RFS upgraded a bush fire at Salt Ash to the “emergency warning” level. 

Tilligerry Peninsula residents were urged to put their survival plans into action.

By the evening, a wind change had pushed the fire towards Tanilba Bay. Emergency alert telephone messages were sent to residents.

Oyster Cove Road and Lemon Tree Passage Road – the main road in and out of the Tilligerry Peninsula – were closed, as the fire roared out of control and heavy smoke spread across Port Stephens.

A road named Tilligerry Track at Tanilba Bay was one of the worst-hit areas.

Video taken in the street showed apocalyptic images of frighteningly large flames rising above the back of houses in strong wind, with thick smoke pervading the area. 

Robert Channon, 18, fought the fire from the backyard of his nan and pop’s house in Tilligerry Track.

Mr Channon is an RFS firefighter from Nabiac, near Taree.

“We got the phone call to say it was coming, so me, my dad and girlfriend came down,” Mr Channon, 18, said.

“We were watching the fire going through the bush from the back verandah,” he said.

“You could feel the heat when it was still a fair bit away. The wind changed all of a sudden and that’s when it came straight towards us.

“I’ve got a video of it. You can see the flames over the height of the house from out the front.

“Me and my dad were out the back. We sent my nan and pop and my girlfriend to my uncle’s place further away, where it was a bit safer.

“As they left, my girlfriend took a video of the house when she left and the flames were over the top of the house.”

This happened about 6.30pm to 7pm on Saturday.

“I was hosing everything. Doing what I could for everyone. We hosed the roof of their garage out, which is closest to the bush,” he said.

“Then the wind changed and you could hear it roaring and coming towards us. Then all the firies started running their hoses through my nan and pop’s property out to the back.

“It was crazy how quickly it all changed.”

The firefighters directed their hoses onto mowed grass at the back of the property, as bush behind this area was engulfed in flames.

“Then we were just attacking the embers as they came in. It was pretty scary. I’ve never been in a situation like that. I didn’t know if we were going to save the house or not.

“All I knew is I would do what I could to help out. The house is fine, there’s no damage at all.”

Despite the danger, Mr Channon felt he could have escaped, if required.

“There were enough people here that we could all get out together,” he said.

Tanilba Bay’s Trina Hampson evacuated from her Clemenceau Crescent home at about 8pm on Saturday.

“I was very scared. Believe me, we had red-hot embers going into the pool and falling on the house and shed. The heat was tremendous.”

She said the fire was “coming towards our houses at breakneck speed”.

“It sounded like a freight train coming. It was a horrible, frightening sound.”

She decided to evacuate.

“I took off with the birds and the dog in the car,” she said.

“It didn’t look good at all. I’m surprised the houses are still here.”

She went to Lemon Tree Passage Bowling Club.

“There were heaps of people inside the club with their dogs. All the dogs were getting on famously and behaving themselves. I’ve never seen anything like it,” she said.

Tanilba Bay’s Mick Ryan lives “just off”  Tilligerry Track.

Mr Ryan went out early on Saturday morning to go to Tea Gardens, but couldn’t get home because of the road closures.

“We waited for 11 hours. We got back home at about 12.30pm [on Sunday morning],” he said.

He said hundreds of vehicles had parked at the Salt Ash service station, where the highway was closed.

The nearby bottle shop “turned into an instant pub”, he said.

About 40 or so people were there “on the sauce”.

“They were having a great time,” he said.

Police showed discretion, given the extraordinary circumstances. The community made the best of a difficult situation. Like in other emergencies, people were more inclined to chat with one another.

“The little church up on the main road was handing out free tea and coffee for everyone. They had a free sausage sizzle. Everyone was together. A lot of people met a lot of people,” Mr Ryan said. 

Meanwhile, the fire was burning close to Mr Ryan’s property. When the road finally opened, he returned home and watched as the firefighters “backburned right along the fence”.

“A little truck made sure the timber fence poles didn’t burn,” he said.

“There were a lot of ashes flying around. There were so many firies here and they were checking everyone’s yards. They were right on the job. They were backburning all through the night.”

He didn’t get to sleep until 5am.

“We were watching out just to make sure everyone was OK. An old fellow lives next door.”

He also kept an eye on an absent neighbour’s property across the road.

He said firefighters did a great job in saving houses.

“They stopped it at the back of all the houses. They did a fantastic job because no houses were lost. And no animals were lost, apart from maybe some bush animals,” he said.

“A lady we know had two horses in a paddock in amongst all this. The fire guys went in and took the horses’ coats off them because if they got hot, they could melt onto them.

“They looked after the horses. One of the firies said that, wherever he went, the two horses followed him. So he hung around until the fire disappeared.”

Tanilba Bay’s Loretta Clarke said she was concerned for koalas and other wildlife. In particular, she was worried about a koala named Jasmine. It lives in trees near her home.

“We keep an eye out for her every day to make sure she’s all right,” Mrs Clarke said.

“We couldn’t find her the last couple of days. We were hoping she wasn’t among the fire in the bush.”

On Sunday morning, they spotted her. “We’re so excited that she seems to be OK.”