How the Redhead bushfire unfolded over one anxious weekend

8 December 2025

newy.com.au – The Redhead bushfire burnt about 89 hectares of bushland north of Redhead in Lake Macquarie across Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 December 2025, triggering an overnight Emergency Warning for streets around a local aged care home before being listed as Advice level and “being controlled”.

The blaze unfolded during a broader NSW fire event in which dozens of bush and grass fires were burning, but it drew particular attention because of its proximity to the Whiddon Nursing Home and the potential for embers to reach nearby suburbs including Dudley, Whitebridge and Gateshead.

The fire is understood to have started about 8.07pm on Saturday in thick bush near the Fernleigh Track close to Oakdale Road. Early crews tried to attack it directly but steep, heavily vegetated terrain allowed it to run quickly through scrub to the edge of Redhead Road before more resources arrived.

Conditions were hot, dry and windy, with a strong southerly change forecast. As that change moved through overnight and into Sunday it produced gusty, shifting winds that pushed the fire north along the western side of Redhead Road towards Oakdale Road and the suburbs beyond, before cooler, more humid air later helped to ease fire behaviour.

In the early hours of Sunday, NSW Rural Fire Service issued an Emergency Warning for people near Whiddon Nursing Home and in nearby streets including Collier Street, Bently Street, Shortland Street and Beresford Close. The message, shared via geotargeted text and social media, told residents it was “Too late to leave” and directed them to shelter inside a solid building.

By around 5:05am the warning had been downgraded to Watch and Act, but the fire remained highly active. Through Sunday the mapped area grew from more than 35 hectares in the morning to over 70 hectares by late afternoon as containment lines were strengthened along Redhead Road and Oakdale Road and aircraft carried out water and retardant drops ahead of the fire edge.

Authorities say more than 100 firefighting crews from NSW Rural Fire Service and Fire and Rescue NSW, supported by multiple helicopters, a heavy‑lift Chinook and fixed‑wing aircraft, worked through the night and day on containment and property protection. Crews concentrated on defending the Whiddon facility and surrounding homes, then on Sunday afternoon shifted more effort to Oakdale Road and Ocean Street as the fire tracked north.

Despite the intensity of the warnings, all homes in the Whiddon precinct and surrounding streets were reported saved by Sunday evening, with no confirmed house or facility losses and no widely reported injuries or deaths directly linked to the Redhead fire. Redhead Road, Oakdale Road and a section of the Fernleigh Track were closed for much of Sunday to protect the public and give trucks and aircraft clear access, before reopening on Monday after inspections.

By late Sunday night the fire was listed at Advice level, about 89 hectares in size and “being controlled”, and a major update on Monday 8 December reiterated that it remained north of Redhead between Redhead Road and Oakdale Road. RFS advised residents in Dudley, Whitebridge and Gateshead to continue to monitor conditions, stay alert for smoke, embers and hotspots, and use official channels such as Hazards Near Me and Live Traffic NSW for the latest fire and road information while crews black out the fireground.