A strong community works together in times of need

Saturday 5th February 2022, was certainly one of those days, it has to be said; the heat had been building up all week, Friday night was hot, and when we awoke on Saturday morning it was already uncomfortably hot, with a north easterly blowing hot winds.

What we didn’t need on this catastrophic fire day was that bit of rotten luck we got, a branch falling across power lines and starting a fire.

When the fire started near Hester Cascades Road It was the prime time for the fire to burn uncontrolled with strong winds fanning the blaze causing a natural disaster.

Town residents were advised to evacuate to Manjimup, because the safety of the town could not be guaranteed.

With ambulances and fire trucks racing through town, fire bombers and spotter aircraft overhead, it certainly was a tumultuous time.

When called upon, the volunteer firefighting organisations and bodies around our rural communities and neighbouring towns, along with those many others who could make a difference all worked together and did. So many in our community got out there with what they had to help their neighbours and to fight the fire, and in fact they probably saved the town as well, as it was close.

Only one occupied house was lost, thanks to the efforts of those out fighting the fires and protecting our assets as best they could in the horrendous conditions.

One fire stricken Bridgetown farmer related, “I am sure many in the fire zone will have similar stories to mine.

“My extreme gratitude goes to the local farmers and community members. From those who were first on the scene on my farm, driving through smoke and fires, opening gates and trying to get the sheep which we had not had time to round up and get them towards the relative safety of a damp area. Then fighting to protect our assets, and later doing patrols for flare ups during the subsequent nights and days to come. With flare up still happening as trees and tree roots continue to burn weeks after the fire swept through, willing helpers are just a phone call away.

“Grateful thanks also to the local farmers who saved our shearing shed and yards where some of our sheep were yarded. These sheep could have died from the radiant heat of the fire. If we had lost those yards and sheds, we could not have yarded our surviving sheep to have them trucked off to agistment.

“One of these local heroes was working to save our place while his own paddocks burnt. Others came despite their own properties and livestock being only a few kilometres from or within the fire warning areas.

“I keep hearing stories of “I was on your place”; one person who was even trapped by the flames was forced to sit out the worst force of the fire down in a damp area, fortunately safely.

“Another who cut a line through our paddocks and our adjoining neighbour’s burning bush in the early hours of Sunday morning with his earthmoving equipment when there was a breakout, thus also saving other neighbour’s properties from further fire spread.

“The smoke was so dense, and the noises so loud. I could not see these heroes, yet they were out in the thick of it, working in conjunction with fire brigade units, both local and from other areas. Fire brigades came from many other areas, as far as north and east of Perth. Locals continued patrolling and damping down flare-ups for days.”

Behind the scenes, many other played vital parts in keeping the firefighters going, like those who had water tankers, filling fire trucks and farmers’ tanks closer to the fire than the standpipes were, thus avoiding delays and having to line up at a standpipe.

Those who were at the control centre, and those at the showgrounds meeting point, all played their part. I know there were other supporting roles, but do not know them all. So many came together for one cause.

Air support crews were working up there in the thick smoke, and helping make containment lines. 425,000 litres of water were dropped from the air during the fire. Air crews returned over several days dropping their retardant on the edges of the burning bush to help contain the fires as the weather heated up again.

Then community members offered assistance. Landholders with spare hay or silage offered what they had to fire victims with livestock. Even the simple but welcomed and necessary things like offering and bringing drinking water were all very much appreciated. There were too many kind deeds to recount. Rio Tinto has donated 500 export sized bales of north west hay to Bridgetown.

Thanks to the volunteer organisers of BlazeAid here, who acted quickly to set up a camp for further volunteers to move in and be on hand to help with boundary fencing removal and replacement. Many of these volunteers are retirees who come with their caravans to fire stricken areas to help.

The change of weather late on Saturday night made a difference, with the north westerly wind dying down and the cooler southern breezes coming in, it certainly made the firies’ job easier, but it was not all over. In Hester, at Timber Treaters Bridgetown, the treated timber stock pile of Copper Chrome Arsenate treated logs caught fire late in the afternoon, creating a hazardous environment for residents and firefighters.

Sunday morning the town now safe, we woke to a completely different and cooler day. It started to rain that day, we got 5mls of rain fall, it seemed like a lot more, but it did little to dampen down the heat of the still burning fires. The work goes on, three weeks have gone by and there are still flare ups.