But that changed when the small New South Wales community, located between Canberra and Bredbo, was devastated in a single day by a fast-moving bushfire. Homes, farms, and livestock were lost.
From nearby Bredbo, I witnessed the flames spreading swiftly over the hills, with embers travelling far and sparking fires in the dry paddocks below.
What those residents didn’t realize as they battled the blaze was that, five years on, they’d still be grappling with its consequences.
An image shows smoke from the fire turning the sky orange behind a sign for Bumbalong Road.
Residents still rebuilding years later
The long-awaited coronial findings have now officially recognized the struggles of Bumbalong residents. Some are still living in caravans on their land, without even basic amenities like flushing toilets.
Chief Coroner Lorraine Walker of the ACT handed down the findings yesterday, and with them, an apology.
“This matter has taken far too long to be finalised,” she said.
“I offer my apologies to those affected by the fire and its aftermath.”
This was the first formal recognition of what Bumbalong’s residents had endured.
Defence helicopter sparked the blaze
The Orroral Valley fire was not a natural disaster. It began when an army helicopter, flying in the ACT’s Namadgi National Park, made an unscheduled toilet stop on a hilltop.
A hot searchlight beneath the helicopter ignited the dry grass. The pilot, thinking the aircraft may have been damaged, lifted off quickly. But it took 35 minutes for Defence to notify local firefighting services of the fire’s location.
The coronial inquiry focused on that critical delay.
The blaze eventually destroyed 80 per cent of Namadgi National Park and threatened Canberra’s southern suburbs. The scale of the damage intensified calls for accountability.
At the time, ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr said he didn’t want a “witch hunt,” prompting the ACT Coroner to conduct an independent inquiry.
Findings acknowledge poor judgment
In the findings released yesterday, Chief Coroner Walker said the delay was an “error of judgement.” She found it hard to believe none of the crew considered informing emergency authorities right away.
Despite the mild tone of the final report, the inquiry was significant.
Transparency through inquiry
Though the crew’s identities were kept confidential, they were required to testify. Their recorded conversations helped the court reconstruct events.
Until this inquiry, details had emerged slowly — largely due to media investigations. It became clear that the crew didn’t alert authorities during their return flight to Canberra Airport.
Photographs taken from the helicopter just after the fire started were later made public. It also emerged that Emergency Services Agency Commissioner Georgina Whelan wasn’t informed of Defence’s involvement until more than nine hours later.
Still, Chief Coroner Walker concluded that the reporting delay had minimal effect on the immediate firefighting response. Smoke from the fire was seen from a nearby tower within minutes, and crews were dispatched quickly.
However, she said reporting the fire earlier would still have been valuable.
“Failure to report the fire earlier, and failure of the Commonwealth to accept the overarching need to do so, does raise an issue of public safety,” Walker stated.
Residents seek justice and compensation
For the residents of Bumbalong, the findings brought some relief — finally, someone had been held responsible.
They now hope this outcome will support their upcoming civil case against the Commonwealth as they seek compensation for what they lost.
