Footage and photographs of the blaze show an enormous cloud of smoke over the area, which could be seen from CBD, and an orange glow in the sky.
At Levande Maybrook retirement village on Jersey Place in Cromer, which is home to more than 100 people across three buildings surrounded by bushland, residents were told to shelter in place.
“When the warning came … it was too late to leave,” Levande spokesman Dean Felton told the Herald.
He said the facility was well-prepared and enacted its bushfire management plan. Residents either stayed in their units with the doors and windows closed, or gathered at the community centre in the middle of the site, which was a designated refuge.
Felton said they were told onsite later on Saturday that the “worst of it had passed”.
Earlier on Saturday afternoon, RFS media spokesman Inspector Ben Shepherd said the fire was burning towards the Cromer Heights and Beacon Hill area, “making its way basically under north-westerly winds in a south-easterly direction to Willandra Road”.
Shepherd said hundreds of firefighters were sent to battle the blaze with assistance from water-bombing aircraft. He confirmed it was a hazard reduction burn that “spotted across lines”.
Locals flooded social media with images of the fire, including from their backyards. One woman urged those driving to look at the blaze to keep the roads clear for firefighters.
Another person said there had been a “constant stream of tourists coming up Lady Penrhyn Drive all afternoon to view the fire”, describing the decision as “crazy”.
A Fire and Rescue NSW spokesman said they were supporting the RFS with nine trucks in attendance and crews focused on property protection.
Earlier this week, the RFS encouraged residents across the state to dedicate this weekend to preparing for bushfire season.
Emergency services minister Jihad Dib acknowledged hot and dry conditions were anticipated in summer.
“After several years of rainfall and flooding the vegetation has grown quickly and that is now drying out with the warmer weather, adding to fire risk,” Dib said.
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Warning downgraded after blaze threatened homes
