A combination of high temperatures, a long dry spell leaving tinder-dry bush, extremely low humidity and most of all, howling westerly winds created the perfect conditions for a day of fire like we've never seen before.
There was a preview of what was to come on Sunday, October 13, when fires broke out at Port Stephens in Fingal Bay and Salt Ash.
The Fingal Bay fire came perilously close to homes, while at Salt Ash four residences, along with many outbuildings, vehicles and equipment, were lost.
A furious row broke out between the mayor of Port Stephens, Bruce MacKenzie, and the Rural Fire Service over claims back-burning had been neglected in the area for years due to pressure from environmentalists.
But worse was ahead, and as Thursday dawned a heavy smoke haze hung over Newcastle and Lake Macquarie from back-burning in Port Stephens.
As the day became hotter and winds gusted, the fire burning at Heatherbrae broke containment lines and burned towards Fullerton Cove.
With hundreds of fire crews and water-bombing helicopters fighting the blaze, thick smoke blanketed the area.
When the fire came uncomfortably close to Williamtown Airport it was evacuated and closed for the remainder of the day.
Numerous and constantly changing road closures caused traffic snarls, school buses were delayed and evacuation centres were set up.
Ausgrid crews were kept busy dealing with power outages caused not just by the fires but also the wild winds knocking trees onto lines.
Major fires were also burning in the Upper Hunter, around Blackjack Mountain, Hungerford Creek and Mt Tangory.
While they were in remote areas they did pose a threat to rural communities.
As Thursday afternoon wore on, with emergency warnings in place in both Port Stephens and the Upper Hunter, smaller fires were springing up at places such as Gateshead and Glendale.
Then when an emergency warning was declared south of Swansea, for a fire that had started in the Rutleys Rd area at Doyalson North, it seemed the whole region was burning.
It had started from a coal-seam fire burning near the surface, which reignited and raged its way towards southern Lake Macquarie.
Running incredibly quickly, the fire soon developed into a true inferno with flames up to 40m high.
Jumping the Pacific Highway into the Munmorah State Conservation Area, it was threatening towns from Chain Valley Bay, Gwandalan, Murrays Beach, Cams Wharf, Nords Wharf, right through to Catherine Hill Bay and Caves Beach.
Locals were evacuated to Swansea and the highway was closed through to Lake Munmorah.
As Hunter motorists drove home on Thursday evening they saw an eerie, almost apocalyptic scene of plumes of thick smoke, ash and leaves being blown around by wild gusts of wind, and the red orb of the sun setting.
As night fell the situation worsened, with a southerly change whipping up the Heatherbrae fire, which threatened homes at Medowie.
Meanwhile, it was becoming clear just how destructive the fire at Lake Macquarie would be.
It tore through the heritage village of Catherine Hill Bay, burning out the valley and destroying historic buildings such as Wallarah House, the jetty masters' quarters and the old gaol cell.
Even the jetty was burning, but the iconic Catho Pub, despite being singed and having a very close call, is still standing.
At one point firefighters had to shelter on the beach from a shower of falling embers.
The emergency continued into Friday, with various southern Lake Macquarie towns under threat from the still-raging fire, but firefighters gradually gained the upper hand on the other blazes in the region.
When the smoke finally cleared, the toll was one fatality, with a 63-year-old man collapsing and dying while trying to defend his property.
Four properties were lost in the Salt Ash fires, and four at Catherine Hill Bay.
There was significant damage to the electricity network, with 20 power poles burned in the Catherine Hill Bay area alone, and parts of the underground power network at Raymond Terrace literally melted.
Thousands of hectares of bush were burned, with an unknown toll on wildlife including the threatened koala population at Port Stephens.
In the end, given the number and sheer ferocity of the fires, it was almost miraculous that there wasn't a much bigger toll of human life and property.
A coordinated emergency response, quick reactions from residents and businesses, good communication and most of all the brave efforts of our firefighters combined to repel one of the most deadly threats this region has ever faced.
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