Bushfires tear through Shire of Dandaragan and City of Greater Geraldton, burning more than 5500 hectares

A two-day bushfire emergency threatened lives and homes in the popular coastal communities of Cervantes and Jurien Bay this week, but thanks to the efforts of more than 200 firefighters no losses were suffered. More than 5500ha of land was burnt, caused by a lightning strike on Tuesday morning, with commercial beehives in the firing line. The raging bushfire was at the highest emergency level for about 35 hours, with flames coming dangerously close to homes, forcing the evacuation of residents to centres in Lancelin and Jurien Bay. It was downgraded to a watch and act alert on Wednesday night. Department of Fire and Emergency Services Mid West-Gascoyne Superintendent Craig Smith said on Thursday that 80 per cent of the blaze was contained and there was no loss to property or lives. At its peak, a contingent of more than 200 firefighters worked to get on top of the blaze from the ground and the air. “There’s been no losses whatsoever, except the Bee Keepers Reserve, there could be some damage to hives in there but we don’t know the extent of that,” he said. West Coast Honey owner Stephen Fewster lost 70 hives, while his brother lost 60. He said about 500 hives were in the fire zone, derived from some of the best locations for hives in the world. “A lot of hives have burn marks on them, the worst part is the loss of income over the next five years,” he said. “It’s going to be a pretty hard year for bee keepers in the area.” Mr Fewster said the location was great during winter because of the high quantity of pollen in the area. “It doesn’t feel good, I guess we’ll try and find somewhere else to go. It’s not a good sight,” he said. “Fires are definitely a concern when there’s thunderstorms, you don’t know when it’s going to light up.” The fire came uncomfortably close to Marine Fields Estate in Jurien Bay’s south, with firebreaks on Homestead Loop the only thing preventing disaster. Shire of Dandaragan president Leslee Holmes said the estate closest to the fire contained “nice houses” on large blocks of land. “We’re very, very fortunate there hasn’t been any significant loss of property and of course loss of life. We have highly trained operatives who take over and made sure everyone was safe and did the very best they can,” she said. “They did an absolutely amazing job, it’s been so well run from the start to what we hope is going to be the finish. “I think we’re a lot more contemporary to our attitude and approach to fires. I was surprised by the amount of people who had a fire plan.” Cr Holmes said the town’s “strange” weather and high winds was unlike anything since the 80s. On Thursday afternoon, Western Power said out of 650 homes affected in the area, they were working to restore power to about 74 homes. There were 50 fire-damaged power poles reported on Thursday. Supt Smith said evacuation centres had closed, and people could return to their homes, but urged them remain vigilant. “The fire was very stationary overnight, we’ve got a number of resources on the job but we are very confident it will be contained by Friday night,” he said. “We’re in a good place at the moment. There’ll still be a lot of mopping up for any hot spots or logs that might be smouldering.” Supt Smith thanked the residents, volunteers and crews for their excellent community efforts. “The firefighting team down there, volunteers and other our resources were exceptional as always and the community has been great in the process,” he said. Residents in affected areas were free to return home on Thursday while Jurien Bay District High School remained closed. Parts of Indian Ocean Drive between Marine Fields Estate and Cervantes remained closed. In a busy week for Mid West firefighters, local crews battled a blaze closer to Geraldton on Tuesday afternoon. About 2pm a fire was accidentally sparked by a grain harvest header in a paddock, about 10km east of the Geraldton City Speedway, in Moonyoonooka. Geraldton-Mount Magnet Road was closed for about four hours, while five ground crews and two water bombers fought the blaze. Firefighters were actively fighting the blaze for 22 hours before it was contained and controlled about 12pm on Wednesday. In total, 1544ha of land was burnt.