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Heading home from a morning of shopping and relaxing in Nelson Bay, Lindsay and Sharon Cole came face-to-face with a fireball and a wall of black smoke which blocked out the sun and the only road to their Lemon Tree Passage home.
The Tilligerry Peninsula – a quiet collection of seaside suburbs – was on fire.
As other motorists frantically turned and fled, Mr Cole swung his car to the side of Lemon Tree Passage Road and reached for his mobile phone.
He captured several images which partly portray the chaos of the fast-moving blaze – which ripped through more than five hectares of scrub in the Tilligerry State Conservation Area and destroyed or damaged at least five homes yesterday.
The Salt Ash fire was among more than a dozen blazes – including three which registered ‘‘emergency warning’’ alerts – which sparked in the Hunter.
Hot and dry north-westerly winds with gusts as strong as 100km/h wreaked havoc in the region with Williamtown the worst affected, registering 35.3degrees in the middle of the afternoon.
‘‘We were coming back home and we could see it from Nelson Bay,’’ Mrs Cole said.
‘‘We weren’t sure where it was coming from, then when we turned the car around we could see it was over our side.
‘‘We tried to rush and get home before they closed the road but then we were confronted with all the smoke and flames.’’
Mr Cole said the couple were confident their house was safe but were frustrated the blaze meant they – and hundreds others – would be locked out of the peninsula for most of the night.
The blaze first sparked in bush between Brownes Road and Lemon Tree Passage Road about 2pm.
Strong south-easterly winds pushed the flames towards Lemon Tree Passage, Mallabula, Bobs Farm and Tanilba Bay and as homes came under threat, fire crews moved in and pulled residents out, while overhead water-bombing helicopters went to work.
Highway patrol officers blocked Lemon Tree Passage Road at the corner of Rookes Road as dozens of Rural Fire Service and Fire and Rescue NSW trucks flashed past.
Residents clutching pets, photos and insurance papers flooded out of the affected area in vehicles while others stood outside their homes to marvel at the sheer volume of the smoke.
Among the grey whisps, thick black plumes shot up into the sky at random intervals, drawing concerned shrieks from residents who worried the change in colour meant homes and garages were being destroyed.
A Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service spokesman said crews were called into Tilligerry early in the afternoon to lift a woman, aged in her 60s, to hospital.
The woman, suffering a heart-related condition, had called an ambulance but the fires had made it impossible for her to reach hospital. Without warning, the blaze jumped Tilligerry Creek and started heading towards Bobs Farms, prompting emergency services vehicles to race in that direction.
Eventually, residents at the Rookes Road turn-off were pushed back even further, out to the turn-off on Nelson Bay Road where a makeshift town was established at a nearby rest stop and shopping centre.
Hundreds of people either sat in the trays of their ute or on picnic blankets to read books, play cards or have a snack.
The majority were home owners in protected areas who were merely frustrated at being evacuated on a Sunday afternoon, but others were deeply distraught and concerned for the fate of their homes.
By 6pm more than 50 people had headed to the evacuation centre at Williamtown’s Community Hall on Nelson Bay Road.
Les Fellows and his wife Jean were among the scores left stranded and praised the work of Rural Fire Service crews.
‘‘We went to Nelson Bay Bowling Club with some friends for lunch and we haven’t been able to get home,’’ Mr Fellows said.
‘‘Our daughter and three grandchildren are in Lemon Tree Passage and can’t get out, they’ve been told to stay put.
‘‘We’ve spoken to them and they tell us they are ok.
‘‘I think it’s absolutely wonderful what the rescue crews are doing, they are going out of their way to help us and make sure we’re safe.’’
Mr Fellows said neighbours had told him his house was safe but police had advised they couldn’t return home until after midnight.
Nearby at Fingal Bay, a fire raged out of control in bush near Rocky Point Road, Boulder Bay Road, Amaroo Crescent and Pacific Drive for much of the day with Rural Fire Service crews giving it an ‘‘emergency warning’’ alert level and advising residents to shelter until the main fire front arrives.
The blaze ripped through more than 117 hectares of scrub by last night and was still burning out of control by 8pm.
Easing conditions had prompted RFS crews to downgrade the alert level but they warned a southerly change would push smoke and burning embers towards neighbouring Shoal Bay and Nelson Bay.
The emergency services response to the Port Stephens blazes was immense, with dozens of RFS trucks making the trip up the M1 (F3) from Sydney to help in the effort.
Further north at the Tangory Mountain, near Singleton, a 150-hectare bushfire burnt out of control for much of the afternoon, testing more than 50 firefighters and aircraft support..
The blaze was still burning out of control at 9pm but the alert level had been reduced to ‘‘watch and act’’.
‘‘Conditions are easing on the Tangory Mountain fire ground,’’ an RFS spokesman said last night.
‘‘However, with a storm moving through the area and a southerly change forecast for this evening, the fire threat remains for rural properties around Cranky Corner Road North and Bimbadeen Road.’’
Rural Fire Service and NSW Fire and Rescue crews managed to bring blazes at Wallsend, Swansea, Awaba, Heatherbrae and Killingworth under control as conditions eased late in the day.
An RFS spokesman said last night crews would not know until today how many homes had been damaged.
He said there had been no serious injuries reported during the fires.
He said a southerly change last night would bring wind gusts as strong as 70-80km/h, but could also drop the temperature by 15 degrees.
He said the cause of both Port Stephens blazes were under investigation.