"Fire in Nana Glen & Coramba area," reads a text message sent to those within the mobile network. "Leave now if path is clear towards Coffs Harbour." Some locals heeded the warning, taking their pets and their photos, maybe their boats but not much else. "The rest is insured. It’s not worth the risk," one said. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video For others the decision was not so black and white. After waiting all day to see signs of the Liberation Trail fire, forecast to threaten Nana Glen by the afternoon, the sky began to glow: purple, brown, orange.

Billowing smoke plumes swallowed a blood red sun just after 4pm, and those that had decided to stay watched on. "It’s absolutely terrifying to be honest, I wouldn’t wish this upon my worst enemy," a local, Ned, said as the sky darkened behind him. Locals watch smoke from a large bushfire outside Nana Glen, near Coffs Harbour. Credit:AAP With his property about 10 kilometres away from the approaching fire front, he marvelled at the blaze, "hot on the trail. It’s not good". "I’ll hope for the best, but expect the worst," he said. "Fingers crossed."

Would he leave now? "Probably not to be honest. A skipper’s gotta go down with the ship." Calm before the storm It’s almost 1pm and there's a peaceful hum in the Nana Glen RFS brigade shed. Volunteers are taking advantage of the quiet; an egg sandwich here, a coffee there.

Sitting in the cool on white plastic chairs, it's the calm before the forecast storm. Loading "I want you all to chill right now, just relax," says brigade captain John Lardner. All morning the crew have been in and out of the shed, which sits next door to the local Two Tails winery, and close to the local public school. Captain Lardner has been directing his volunteers, all of whom are missing work to help. None of them will be paid today, tomorrow, or any other day they don the yellow uniform.

Surveying maps and using the RFS radio to call in changing weather conditions, Captain Lardner is a bushfire veteran, with more than 30 years experience as a volunteer. Captain John Lardner speaking with Graham and Bec Jones at the entrance to their property in Nana Glen on Tuesday. Credit:Lucy Cormack "This is a critical moment and we have just got to stand shoulder to shoulder as a community, and basically, that's all we can do," he said. Flames have yet to be seen from the town, where a heavy smoke has hung low all morning. But an orange glow is setting in across the land. It’s enough to catch the eye of Captain Gardner, who said it is a sign of heat convecting, rising into the atmosphere. It means the sun hasn’t got anything to bounce off because the ionosphere is covered.

Cloud cover is expected to act "like a blanket" and will trap heat overnight. "Visibility is dropping rather dramatically," he calls into the radio. "We have a glowing smoke that’s a bit of a concern, over." The crew shut the garage door to the station and head out in the truck to investigate. 'We gotta go' It's almost 3pm and the Dyball family have fixed sprinklers to the roof of their home. They are getting ready to go.

"We’re a bit stressed. Police have just stopped here and told us we should think about going. We don’t want to go, do we?" Dianne Dyball said to husband Pete. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video The mother of two boys is tearing up. Behind they will be leaving "Pete’s very expensive recording studio," she said. "I’ve had a couple of cries. That’s our livelihood." Across Nana Glen RFS crews had asked residents to leave their yellow bins out front if they were staying put. But for the Dyballs, it’s time to bring it in.

"Do you want to pull it in?" Mrs Dyball said to her son Sam, "because the cops just stopped, we gotta go." Night has just begun It’s almost 5pm and the sky is blackening. Multiple crews head up Ellems Quarry Road with urgency, sirens on and lights flashing. At the end of this road live Bec and Graham Jones, farmers who said they would stay until their lives were threatened.

Loading The RFS tankers stop along the road where a line of flames can be seen about 50 metres ahead. Multiple crews are working to control them, as daylight starts to fade under the thick smoke. It’s not long before the fire begins circling. The heat is intense and the smoke burns the eyes and throat. Among the properties under threat is that of Nana Glen’s most famous resident Russell Crowe, who has a 320-hectare property in the town. Suddenly a stray wallaby emerges, bouncing onto the dirt road, frozen at the face of the fire surrounding his home.