Community spirit held Coonabarabran together during and after the bushfire that scarred both the landscape and people in 2013. Ten years on, we remember the horrific Wambelong bushfire and the brave crews who fought to contain it.

Ten years ago, the fire that tore through most of the Warrumbungle National Park ignited.

By the time the Wambelong fire was declared to be extinguished on 24 January, it had destroyed 53 homes and 131 other buildings; killed 847 sheep and 318 cattle; burnt 95 per cent of the National Park – 60 per cent of that under catastrophic conditions; and left mental scars on many residents.

It was late in the afternoon when a triple zero call was made, indicating that a fire had started near the Wambelong campground in the National Park.

NSW RFS and National Parks and Wildlife crews responded to the call.

The fire was burning along the northern side of John Renshaw Parkway, running in a north-easterly direction into steep and difficult terrain at a moderate intensity.

The Coronial Inquiry could not determine the cause of the fire.

Catastrophic fire weather conditions emerged the following day, causing the fire to initially run south towards Grand High Tops before swinging around and running east towards Coonabarabran.

A massive plume of smoke developed, bellowing into the sky – at one point reaching 12-14 kilometres in height.

The plume caused long-range spotting which progressed the fire by 10 kilometres.

Fire debris including charred sticks and leaves were recorded as far away as Purlewaugh.

A southerly change impacted the fire, with the edge moving toward Yearinan and Bugaldie.

Frantic efforts were made to evacuate residents east and north of the park.

Siding Spring Observatory was impacted with a fire run missing the main observatory by 100 metres. The lodge and another residence in the compound were lost.

Aggressive aerial attacks contributed to saving the majority of buildings within the complex.

Fire and Rescue NSW crews were able to reach the facility later in the night, protecting buildings from further ember attacks.

Hazard reduction, retro fittings on buildings, the aerial attack and the follow-up ember attack preventions all contributed to saving the area.

The impacted Lodge was built at the top of two gullies that made it difficult to protect, even under moderate conditions.

From that point on, other fires began spreading, with crews working hard to contain blazes and protect properties under threat.

While there were no human lives lost in the fire, the mental toll it took on some residents is still felt today.

A focus was then put on protecting crucial communication towers including emergency services and public broadcasting services that were also in the line of the fire.

At the back end of the incident, as crews were mopping up, the southern part of the park was hit by a rain bomb which caused localised flash flooding.

The combination of the fire and rain caused severe erosion below the television tower.

An independent expert and bushfire scientist, Associate Professor Jason Sharples provided a report to the Coronial Inquiry, describing the fire at its peak.

“The Wambelong fire was a clear case of a fire developing into its most catastrophic state,” he stated in the report.

“The fire developed into a fully- fledged fire thunderstorm, which when viewed as a contiguous event involved tens of thousands of cubic kilometres of atmosphere in addition to the large surface area consumed by the fire.”

While there were no human lives lost in the fire, the mental toll it took on some residents is still felt today.