Western Australia fire crews hope for weekend relief
Fire crews in WA are likely to enjoy a small window of relief over the weekend as cooler temperatures help ease the Red Gully blaze which has burnt thousands of hectares.
Fire crews in Western Australia are likely to enjoy a small window of relief over the weekend as cooler temperatures help ease the Red Gully blaze that has burnt thousands of hectares since Saturday.
As of Friday afternoon, more than 10,230ha of land burned through the Gingin and Dandaragan shires, about 120km north of Perth, in the blaze that kicked off about 9.30am last Saturday.
Throughout the week extreme heat and wind changes led to a catastrophic combination that threatened the lives and properties of nearby residents.
Emergency services had to temporarily close the Brand Highway on Thursday, but after a successful battle with the blaze, the highway was reopened Friday.
Residents of about 270 homes in Oceans Farms Estate and nearby Seaview Park had been asked to evacuate, as the blaze burned closer, at one point just 1km away.
While there were no forced evacuations, the Department of Fire and Emergency Services said the majority of households complied with evacuation requests.
As the blaze was downgraded on Friday to a watch-and-act level, temporary permits were issued to residents, who were allowed to collect essential items and carry essential duties such as feeding pets.
Throughout the afternoon the fire service issued full-access permits in nearby Guilderton, Ledge Point and Lancelin.
“The idea is that we’ve allowed access to the residents only and they can come and go as they please,” said DFES incident controller Sven Andersen.
A permit system would allow emergency services personnel to know who would be in at-risk areas with resident registrations, information packs and fire briefings.
A sense of optimism filled the air on Friday as Mr Andersen addressed media.
“There’s still a lot of work to be done around the fire but a sea breeze and increased humidity had taken some pressure off the fires,’’ he said.
“I’m quietly confident that this afternoon will probably be our last big test I think.’’
He applauded the joint effort of firefighters so far, a 200-strong crew made up of the Fire and Rescue Service, the Bushfires Service, career firefighters and support by the SES.
“The crews are working hard continually to mop up under trying conditions,” he said.
While Perth will have only slight cooler temperatures this weekend the east coast is set to enjoy temperatures in the mid-to-high 20s, with a maximum of 28C in Canberra, 25C in Sydney, 27C in Brisbane and 24C in Hobart.
While firefighters may enjoy some relief as heavy sea breezes blows in over the weekend, Mr Andersen said crews weren’t in the clear and that Saturday “will still be a telling day”.
“Tomorrow is still a concern but if we can hold it on these southwesterly winds today we’re in a good position,” he said.
About 18 bushfires burned in the rest of Western Australia overnight but crews were in high spirits, Mr Andersen said.
“This will be ongoing for at least another five days and there will be lots of mopping up to do.”
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