Crime scenes in a gutted waterfront suburb
New South Wales police have launched a criminal investigation into a devastating bushfire on the state’s Central Coast, as arson detectives examine whether the blaze that razed 16 homes in Koolewong was deliberately lit.
The fast-moving fire tore through the steep waterfront suburb on Saturday, leaping from house to house and forcing residents to flee with only minutes to spare. Many returned to find entire streets reduced to twisted metal and ash.
NSW Police’s arson squad, along with forensic and technical specialists, has now established multiple crime scenes in the area as they attempt to determine how the blaze began and whether it was lit deliberately.
What investigators are looking at
Detectives are focusing on a cluster of locations around the fire’s suspected origin point, including sections of Nimbin Avenue, Glenrock Parade and John Street, all of which sit on the bush-fringed escarpment above Brisbane Water.
Key lines of inquiry include:
- Suspicious fuel containers: Local media report that at least one or two fuel or gas cans were found within a few hundred metres of the initial fire front, prompting immediate suspicion.
- A red jerry can: An item of interest consistent with a fuel container was photographed and documented by investigators at one of the scenes, though police stress this does not yet confirm arson.
- Weather and spread pattern: Forensic mapping of how the fire moved through vegetation and structures in extreme heat and wind, to see if that pattern matches a natural ignition (such as embers or power-line faults) or multiple ignition points.
Police have not named any suspects and say they are keeping an open mind. The official cause remains “undetermined” while laboratory tests and expert fire-scene analysis continue.
‘We did everything right, and still lost everything’
For residents, the forensic tape and white overalls are a jarring backdrop to personal loss.
Sarra and Craig Saxon-Gill, who lived on the hillside above the water, told the ABC they had spent months preparing for fire — clearing gutters, installing rooftop sprinklers and writing a bushfire survival plan. None of it could match the speed of Saturday’s blaze. Their home is now a blackened slab.
Like many neighbours, they spoke of a wall of fire that seemed to appear almost out of nowhere in searing 40°C heat, carried by winds that turned glowing embers into spot fires dozens of metres ahead of the main front.
In total, 16 homes were destroyed and at least nine more damaged in Koolewong, according to building-impact assessment teams. Dozens of cars, boats and sheds were also lost.
Remarkably, no lives were lost on the Central Coast, a fact NSW authorities say is due to both the work of firefighters and the preparedness of residents who left early.
A fire that moved ‘door-to-door’
Firefighters and locals describe the Koolewong blaze as one of the fiercest the area has seen in years.
- Temperatures in parts of the Central Coast climbed close to 40°C, in the midst of a severe heatwave that also sent Sydney’s western suburbs into the low 40s.
- Strong, gusty winds pushed flames uphill and along ridgelines, while embers jumped over roads and even across stretches of water, igniting waterfront properties.
- Within hours, the fire had chewed through bushland and into tightly packed streets, where timber decks, vegetation and steep driveways amplified the intensity of the burn.
More than 250 firefighters, 50 trucks and at least nine aircraft were thrown at the blaze. Trains on the Central Coast and Newcastle line were halted as flames approached the rail corridor, and an evacuation centre at Gosford RSL sheltered dozens of displaced residents.
Premier Chris Minns called it “a very challenging and devastating day” for the region, warning that the conditions reflected the kind of rapid-escalation fire days NSW can expect more often.
Part of a wider emergency across NSW and Tasmania
The Koolewong disaster is one flashpoint in a broader fire crisis spanning New South Wales and Tasmania:
- A National Parks and Wildlife Service firefighter was killed by a falling tree while working a separate blaze near Bulahdelah on the Mid North Coast.
- At least four homes were destroyed in Bulahdelah amid the same period of extreme heat and dry lightning.
- In Tasmania, 19 homes burned down at Dolphin Sands on the east coast, where fire raced through coastal vegetation and holiday shacks.
In total, close to 40 homes have been lost across both states in just a few days, as dozens of fires flared under hot, unstable conditions that experts say were primed by five years of unusually wet weather and abundant regrowth.
Why arson matters so much in a “ready to burn” landscape
Investigators stress that they are still examining all possible causes for the Koolewong fire. But the mere possibility of deliberate ignition in such conditions is deeply alarming to authorities and communities alike.
Fire scientists have warned that after back-to-back La Niña years soaked large parts of eastern Australia, thick vegetation and undergrowth have now dried out — creating what one expert described as a landscape “ready to burn”.
In that context, a single match, spark or deliberately lit grassfire can have vastly more destructive consequences than in an average year. If the Koolewong blaze does prove to be arson, it will not only be a criminal act against a town, but an incident that exploited a known, elevated statewide risk.
Fear, anger and resolve in Koolewong
Among locals, emotions are a volatile mix of grief, anger and grim determination.
Some residents say that if the fire is confirmed as deliberate, “it’s hard to find words strong enough” for what has been done — not just to homes and possessions, but to a community that may take years to fully recover. Others are focusing on immediate needs: temporary housing, insurance battles, clean-up, and helping neighbours who have lost everything.
Mental-health services and community groups have begun outreach in evacuation centres and affected streets, warning that trauma can emerge weeks or months after the flames die down.
At the same time, there is a strong sense of solidarity. Local businesses are organizing fundraisers; nearby towns are delivering clothes, food and tools; and volunteers are turning up with shovels and gloves to help sift through rubble.
What happens next in the investigation
Over coming weeks, police and fire investigators will:
- Analyse debris and vegetation samples for traces of accelerants or abnormal burn patterns
- Review CCTV and dash-cam footage from nearby roads and properties
- Take statements from residents about unusual activity — people, vehicles or smells — in the hours before the fire was reported
- Work closely with NSW Rural Fire Service fire-behaviour experts to reconstruct the earliest stages of the blaze
Any confirmed link between suspicious items (like fuel cans) and the ignition point will be crucial. If sufficient evidence emerges, police could move to lay serious charges carrying lengthy prison terms, particularly given the scale of destruction.
Authorities are urging anyone with information — no matter how minor it might seem — to contact Crime Stoppers.
A brutal warning at the start of summer
The Central Coast fire, and the investigation now swirling around it, arrive alarmingly early in the bushfire season. With summer only just beginning, fire chiefs, scientists and political leaders are all delivering the same message: this could be a long, hard season.
For Koolewong, the priority is immediate recovery. For NSW, the lesson is already clear: in a landscape primed to burn, the difference between a close call and a catastrophe may be nothing more than a gust of wind — or the decision of one person to light a flame.
7 years in the field, from local radio to digital newsrooms. Loves chasing the stories that matter to everyday Aussies – whether it’s climate, cost of living or the next big thing in tech.
