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Bushfire at Summer Bay – worry as grassfire breaks out on Barrenjoey Headland, Palm Beach

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A bushfire broke out on Barrenjoey Headland on Saturday afternoon, causing damage to a building at its famous lighthouse. The headland overlooks Palm Beach, better known as the real-life home of Home and Away’ss Summer Bay.

According to a NSW Rural Fire Service spokesman, the fire started at 2pm EST, with around 80 firefighters and two helicopters fighting the fire from both the ground and air. The fire was confirmed as out by Home and Away star Shane Withington (John Palmer) at 8:30pm EST.

The amount of damage to the headland is currently unknown, but the NSW Rural Fire Service announced that one building in the Barrenjoey Lighthouse complex suffered damage after a fire broke out in its roof. However, the iconic lighthouse itself was saved by firefighters.


Barrenjoey Headland features regularly in Home and Away.

The lighthouse, referred to on screen as being located on ‘sStewarts Point’s, was built in 1881, and consists of the lighthouse building itself, an oil room and the keeper’ss cottage, as well as a number of outbuildings. It is one of the most iconic sights on Sydney’ss Northern Beaches, and was built from sandstone quarried on the site itself.

The fire reportedly cut the access track up to the lighthouse, causing the Rural Fire Service to send out an emergency alert to those already on the headland, ordering them to shelter at the lighthouse itself. “We are about to send an emergency alert to people in that area to say ‘sshelter at the lighthouse do not try to go back down the access trail itself” said Ben Shepherd from RFS on Saturday afternoon”

Thankfully, initial reports suggest that nobody has been hurt by the fire. However, two teenagers had to be rescued after the grassfire caused them to become trapped.

Ollie Pound and Hugo Tales were fishing on the Broken Bay side of the headland and were oblivious to the danger until an emergency worker on a jetski informed them they would have to evacuate. The Australian Daily Telegraph reports that the teenagers, both 14, walked around the rocks in a westerly direction and were rescued by a police boat.

The Home and Away cast and crew headed to Twitter and Instagram to express their shock at the unfolding events.

More soon.