Name: Homes destroyed as bushfires tear through Koolewong
Uploaded: 2025-12-06T06:09:08.231Z
Duration: 3 min 46 s
Description: Dozens of homes have been destroyed by fire on the NSW Central Coast. Residents were forced to flee with what little they could carry. The fire is burning in Koolewong, which is surrounded by dense bushland.

Dozens of homes have been destroyed by fire on the NSW Central Coast. Residents were forced to flee with what little they could carry. The fire is burning in Koolewong, which is surrounded by dense bushland.

Koolewong

Bushfires have swept through the Koolewong area on the New South Wales central coast, destroying up to a dozen homes and forcing residents to evacuate. Firefighters faced difficult terrain and intense weather, with thick smoke hampering visibility and emergency services assisting residents, including the elderly, to safety.

Authorities report that around 250 firefighters and 50 trucks, supported by multiple aircraft, are working to contain the fire, which has spread to new areas and continues to pose a threat. The situation remains ongoing, with additional resources deployed as the fire moves into the national park and threatens more properties.

Homes destroyed as bushfires tear through Koolewong

Dense bushland dotted with homes that never stood a chance. Less than a week into summer, flames have ripped through the central coast. HEAVY RAIN The heat and wind became an unstoppable force at Kulawong just after 2pm. Firefighters up against the toughest of terrain and conditions as flames tore down steep hills, leaping from roof to roof, balcony to balcony. Thick black smoke smothered the Woi Woi area and made it difficult to see just how many homes may have been damaged or destroyed. Initial reports suggest up to a dozen have already been lost. The community powerless to protect their houses, seeking refuge on the roadside as they watched the flames tear through each home, one after another, after another. The humble garden hose was no match for Mother Nature. This man eventually evacuated by emergency services just metres from the flames. Other devastated residents took all they could carry but were forced to leave the rest to fate. Escaping with little time to spare, the elderly were assisted by police as they clambered to safety over the train tracks, left to look back at the merciless force of the fire. Today's disaster was the nightmare authorities had been expecting but hoped wouldn't eventuate. A fast, life-threatening emergency that's not over yet. And let's get to Chris Campy now, who has been speaking with evacuated residents. Chris, this is pretty much the worst case scenario. Yeah, it sure is, Taylor, and I'll explain that to you a little bit. This peninsular area, or this area up the ridgeline, is a bit of a pinch point between the railway line and the Brisbane Water National Park on the other side of the bridge at Woi Woi here. And that fire put all of these homes at risk. It was bearing down on them. Authorities didn't have much choice but to get everyone out of the way. The conditions were so bad that they weren't even allowing people to stay and protect their homes. Now, on the other side of me here are a number of those homes that have been lost. We're told around 12 is the number of properties we believe have been destroyed at this point. That number could, of course, change. Now, some of the residents that were in there could only watch as their homes went up. I spoke to a couple of them, Tony and Claudia, who had the home just over there that's normally a waterfront spot. This is what they had to say a short time ago. Just grabbed all we could, our paperwork and things like that and, yeah, and just took off. And we tried to hose it off for a while, but that was useless. We had to get out. So we had no time to even think. To start again, we've lost everything. All we've got left is what we're wearing, you know? Now, this is still very much an unfolding situation. There are currently nine aircraft buzzing overhead. That includes the LAT, or the Large Aerial Tanker, as well as the C-130 Herc. A number of choppers, including the Chinook and Hueys, are dropping retardant lines behind these properties. At the moment, there's about 250 firefighters, 50 trucks in this area still working to try and contain the fire. The problem is they're getting no relief from the weather at this point. Now, at the moment, an area of concern is just across where the fire has spotted, across onto Woi Woi Bay Road. Now, that's put the Fegans Bay area at new risk. So extra resources are being shifted across there. Authorities are still cleaning up some of the property loss here. The fire has shifted up that ridgeline into the national park, and it is posing new threats as we go to air tonight. Taylor.

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