2021 Wooroloo bushfire

The 2021 Wooroloo bushfire is a fast moving bushfire that started on 1 February in Wooroloo, 45 kilometres (28 mi) north-east of the Perth central business district, in the Shire of Mundaring, Western Australia. By 2 February, the bushfire emergency had spread to Shires of Chittering and Northam, and the City of Swan.[1] It has destroyed at least 86 houses and 2 fire trucks.[2] The fire coincided with a five day lockdown of the Perth metropolitan region that started at 6pm on 31 January, due to a case of COVID-19 outside of hotel quarantine.

2021 Wooroloo bushfires
LocationShire of Mundaring
Shire of Chittering
Shire of Northam
City of Swan
Coordinates31°47′21″S 116°19′48″E (approximate ignition point)
Statistics
Date(s)1 February – present
Burned area10,400 hectares (26,000 acres)
Buildings destroyed86
Non-fatal injuries8

Background

In November 2020, most parts of Perth recorded record high rainfalls for November. Gidgegannup recorded 137.8 millimetres (5.43 in) of rainfall, beating the previous record of 85.0 millimetres (3.35 in) that was set in 1985.[3] This caused large amounts of grass and plant growth. In December 2020 and January 2021 however, Perth recorded less than 5.0 millimetres (0.20 in) of rainfall, resulting in the grass and plants drying up.[4]

Timeline

1 February

The fire started near Werribee Road, Wooroloo on 1 February 2021, with the fire first reported at 12:02 pm.[5] Weather conditions were harsh with the daytime temperature at 38 °C (100 °F) with strong winds.[5] By 1 pm, an emergency warning had been issued to residents of Wooroloo, Bailup and Gidgegannup, who were urged to evacuate.[5] A evacuation centre was opened at Brown Park Complex in Swan View.[5] 500 firefighters and 95 vehicles were sent to fight the fire, as had aircraft water bombers.[5] By 3:42 pm, 230 ha (570 acres) was reported burnt as the fire moved in a north-westerly direction.[6]

The fire was moving rapidly through the day and jumped across Toodyay Road (10 km (6.2 mi) from the fire source), and the Walyunga National Park (28 km (17 mi) from the fire source) came under threat.[7] Fire officials said firefighters were battling spot fire that were appearing around 500 metres (1,600 ft) in front of the fire.[7] 120 local horses were relocated from the fire area to the State Equestrian Centre in the afternoon but had to be relocated to Middle Swan when the Equestrian Centre came under threat of the fire.[7] By 6 pm, the first reports of destroyed houses were received and reported as seven.[6] DFES reported at 11pm that 4,146 ha (10,240 acres) of land had burnt and issued emergency warnings for Gidgegannup, Brigadoon, Upper Swan and Bullsbrook.[6] Fire services recorded that one firefighter had received minor burns, one suffered smoke inhalation, and two fire trucks were destroyed by fire.[5]

2 February
NSW Rural Fire Service Boeing 737 aerial tanker

The Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) was advising that 80 per cent of properties in Tilden Park, Gidgegannup had been lost.[8] Earlier in the day, 30 properties were reported lost with no loss of life.[9] A large aerial tanker, the Marie Bashir, a 737 aircraft that can carry 15,000 litres (3,300 imp gal; 4,000 US gal) of water or fire retardant, was on route from the NSW Rural Fire Service and was due in Western Australia by 5pm.[8][9] A smoke alert was issued by DFES that stretched from Joondalup in the northern suburbs to Fremantle in the south with ash falling in many non-fire suburbs including suburbs close to the central business district.[9] The fire continued in a west-south-westerly direction.[9] By 4pm, the fire had burnt through 7,300 ha (18,000 acres) with a 80 km (50 mi) perimeter.[10]

By 6pm, the houses destroyed rose to 59 and over 8,000 ha (20,000 acres) destroyed.[6] A DFES spokesperson said of the 59 homes lost, fifteen to twenty houses were lost on the eastern side of Toodyay Road.[10] By the end of the afternoon, the winds were northerly and the firefighters were attempting to build firebreaks on the northern and southern flanks of the fire areas as the wind was expected to change to south-easterly over the next few days.[9] Western Power had reported 2,700 properties without electricity due to the destruction of the power lines to those areas.[8] 308 horses, evacuated from various areas in the fire zone the day before, were stabled at the Magic Millions complex.[11] A total of six firefighters were reported injured with minor injuries.[9]

3 February

The morning briefing saw the fire commissioner Darren Klemm comment that the fire had not moved much overnight, but they were struggling with fire on the north-west front as the hilly terrain hindered the fire crews and equipment.[12] Weather conditions continued to be hot and windy.[13] Winds were south to southeasterly at 15 to 25 km/h (9.3 to 15.5 mph) in late morning, changed to south to southwesterly at 35 to 40 km/h (22 to 25 mph) in the afternoon before changing later to 25 to 40 km/h (16 to 25 mph) with gusts expected to be 70 km/h (43 mph) in the hills during the evening.[12] Day time temperature dropped to 34 °C (93 °F).[14] Water bombers returned in the morning and were used to set up lines of retardant in the morning.[13][12] It was confirmed that forty-three homes were lost in the estate of Tilden Park, while seventy-one were recorded as lost in total with over 9,000 ha (22,000 acres) of land burnt by the morning.[13]

In the morning, residents of the Shady Hill estate, and the outskirts of east Bullsbrook, were urged to have their bushfire plans in place.[14] But by midday, residents of those areas were asked to evacuate in an northerly direction when the wind changed.[14] A total of 2,000 Shady Hills and East Bullsbrook residents were asked to evacuate.[6] In the area north-west of Gidgegannup and east of Walyunga National Park, anyone remaining could no longer leave and were told to defend in place.[14] The RAAF Base Pearce, north-west of the fire, though not under direct threat, became a watch and act zone.[14] A spokesperson for the Australian Defence Force said the airbase at Pearce was being evacuated and that the only personnel remaining would be supporting the bushfire air support and all ordinance was safely stored and posed no risk.[15] The base's runways were unusable to the fire bombers as work had being carried out on them.[16] Sixty-nine suburbs of Perth were on alert with sixteen in immediate danger.[6] At then end of the day, 10,000 ha (25,000 acres) had been burnt and 300 firefighter and 20 aircraft involved in the effort to slow the blaze with and a second large tanker was due from NSW.[6] The evening and overnight saw 60 km/h (37 mph) winds that were causing spot fires 200m ahead of the main fire.[6]

The WA Police arson squad announced they had established the origin of the fire near Werribee Road, Wooroloo and did not believe it was suspicious but were investigating further with DFES investigators.[17] Police Commissioner Chris Dawson dismissed rumours that the fire had been started by fireworks or a meth-lab.[18] There were two reports of thefts of evacuated homes, one in Aveley and the other in Red Hill which the police commissioner regarded as burglary, not looting.[12] The DFES Deputy Commissioner said that they were investigating whether it was feasible to bring fire crews in from interstate as some local fire crews had been working for three days.[14] A second large air tanker, Bomber 137, was sent from RAAF Richmond to Bunbury for operational use from 4 February.[16]

WA Department of Communities opened two more evacuation centres, one at Swan Active in Midvale and another at Swan Active in Beechboro.[13] 700 people had registered at the departments evacuation points, with 230 sleeping overnight.[14] WA Department of Primary Industry and Regional Development provided twelve vets to take care of any injured animals brought in to the fire control centre.[14] Federal Minister for Emergency Management David Littleproud announced disaster relief payments for people who lost their homes, with Centrelink to provide $1,000 per adult and $400 per child from Thursday 4 February.[14] He also announced that disaster victims could claim the Disaster Recovery Allowance that was available for up to thirteen weeks while the Prime Minister Scott Morrison addressed parliament concerning the bushfires.[19]

The bushfire has also disrupted rail traffic on this date from Northam, Kalgoorlie, and Merredin, with the AvonLink, Prospector, and MerredinLink services cancelled and replaced with coaches from those towns to Perth and surrounding suburbs. Normal travel was expected to return on 5 or 6 February.[20][21][22]

4 February

500 firefighters had worked through the night defending Avon Ridge Estate and Shady Hills with strong east-south-easterly winds.[23] They had been assisted by fire retardant that was laid late Wednesday by the large fire bombers.[23] The bombers had dropped eleven loads of retardant, 200,000 litres (44,000 imp gal; 53,000 US gal) in total, the day before.[24] Two firefighting vehicles had been confirmed as lost over the last three days.[23] It was confirmed that properties destroyed in Tilden Park had risen to fifty-six properties when the fire passed through on Tuesday 2 February.[6] Temperatures cooled to 28 °C (82 °F) with stable winds east to south-easterly in the fire area, but gusts were expected up to 70 km/h (43 mph) in the evening.[25]

It was confirmed that 10,400 ha (26,000 acres) of land was burnt and the perimeter of the fire was 136 km (85 mi).[25] The Shady Hills estate had been protected overnight but south-easterly winds in the afternoon could threaten the estate again. Shady Hills estate, east of Bullsbrook and parts of Gidgegannup were again advised it was too dangerous to leave and if they remained should shelter in place.[25]

By the afternoon the main fire was being tackled by 500 full time fire fighters and volunteers, with the fire bombers laying fire retardant and the fire moving in north westerly direction.[25] A new fire began in the afternoon, a few kilometers from Bullsbrook, 10 km (6.2 mi) north of the original fire at the intersection of Wilson and Chittering roads and firefighters and aerial tankers were fighting the fire and was brought under control.[25] It was confirmed by fire authorities that the Wooroloo bushfire had now claimed eighty-one homes.[26]

The WA Premier announced emergency state funding, $4,000 for those who had lost homes and $2,000 for damaged.[25] Western Power had begun to replace power poles in some areas damaged by the fire.[25] 800 homes remained without power down from 2,000 reported.[16] WA Police Commissioner Chris Dawson announced there was no reports of further burglaries or looting.[25] The Australian Red Cross said numbers continued to drop at the evacuation centres as evacuees found other accommodation.[25]

Firefighter were monitoring weather conditions for the weekend as rain was forecasted by the Bureau of Meteorology for Saturday and Sunday and this could bring some relief.[25]

5 February

The emergency warning area was reduced overnight, with the areas under threat reduced to ten locations and included parts of Avon Valley National Park, Belhus, Brigadoon, Bullsbrook, Ellenbrook, Gidgegannup, The Vines, Upper Swan and Walyunga National Park in the City of Swan.[27] On the western flanks Shady Hills and Walyunga, the Avon Ridge were still been watched for breakouts.[27]

The number of homes lost increased to 86.[27] Firefighters said they had saved 200 homes inside the fire area.[28] No further homes were lost overnight as the 200 firefighters battled the bushfire on its northern front with strong east-south-easterly winds and gusts of up to 80km/h.[27] The bushfire had burnt up to 11,000ha of land and the perimeter was around 122km. Residents were allowed to return to their properties in areas east of Toodyay Road while others were expected to be allowed on 6 February in other areas.[27] Those west of Toodyay Road and Tilden Park Estate were escorted in buses to view their properties.[27] Assessors started to walk 240km of roads and tracks to access the burnt trees at the roadsides to see what dangers needed to be addressed to allow them to be opened to ordinary traffic.[27] By early evening the fire was still uncontained around the intersections of Clenton Road, O'Brien Road and Ewing Road, Gidgegannup.[27]

Yesterday's separate fire, 10km north of the main Wooroloo bush, close to Bullsbrook, had been contained by ten firetrucks and controlled by Thursday evening, and was being treated as suspicious fire.[27] By Friday, the fire had been declared not suspicious.[29]

Police arson investigators and Western Power continued to search the property at the source of the fire.[30] They focused on the power lines, domestic power lines and service pits.[30] They still do not believe the bushfire was caused by a crime. The house and shed on the property did not burn when the fire started.[30]

Impact of COVID-19

Starting at 6pm on 31 January 2021, the Perth metropolitan, Peel and South West regions went into a five day lockdown as a result of a hotel quarantine security guard testing positive to the British variant of COVID-19. The rules meant the only four reasons for people to leave their home were to go to work if it couldn't be done at home, exercise, but for only one hour per day and within 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) of home, shopping for essential items such as food and medicine, and for medical care. Visiting other people was not allowed, and masks had to be worn in public.[31][32]

During the evacuation of residences near the fire, there was confusion about whether people could go to family and friend's houses or not due to the lockdown restrictions. The police commissioner, Chris Dawson, stated "If you are under threat, leave your property. Do not stay in the property if you think you have to obey the COVID-19 rules." Mark McGowan stated "Right now, WA is battling two different kinds of emergencies – a dangerous fire emergency and a COVID-19 lockdown emergency."[33][34]

Firefighters had restrictions placed on them due to the lockdown. There was a limit to the number of firefighters in each vehicle. Each firefighter had to wear a mask and comply with social distancing.[33][35]

Disaster fundraising

The Lord Mayor's Distress Relief Fund had been reopened with the State Premier Mark McGowan contributing $2 million with another half million dollars contributed by the fund itself by the afternoon of 3 February.[36]

Rio Tinto CEO Ivan Vella announced that his organisation was donating $2 million to aid recovery initiatives.[37] Of that sum, $500,000 had been donated by Minara Resources, Mt Gibson Iron Ore and Newmont Australia.[38] HIF has pledged $25,000 while the WA Chamber of Minerals and Energy CEO Paul Everingham said they were prepared to commit $2.5 million.[37]

By Thursday 4 February, Chevron had joined Rio Tinto contribution to the Lord Mayor's Distress Relief Fund, with the former contributing $1.2 million. Coles contributed $100,000 and the ability of its customers to contribute further.[38] Andrew Forrest's Minderoo Foundation had partnered with the Salvation Army to provide emergency shelters and food as well as by means of a financial donation.[38] Crown Perth had offered a 100 free rooms to employees affected by the bushfire.[38]

Insurance claims

Early insurance estimates put the cost of bushfire at more than $40 million.[39] Claims included vehicles, fencing, stables, sheds, water tanks and at least eighty-one homes.[39] They major WA insurers RAC and HBF have started to receive claims as of 4 February, with the former receiving four home claims and thirteen cars while the latter, three home claims.[39] Both expected to receive more claims, while there was speculation that many were underinsured or had none.[39] The Insurance Council of Australia said insurers had received more than 270 claims.[27]

Helicopters and planes utilised

Identification of some of the aircraft identified is available in the online application named Bushfire.io.[40]

CallsignAircraftRegoType
B132Lockheed C-130H HerculesN132CGLarge Air Tanker (LAT) / Bomber (B)
B210Boeing 737-300N138CGLarge Air Tanker (LAT) / Bomber (B)
B602Air Tractor AT-802AVH-FGOSingle Engine Air Tanker (SEAT) / Bomber (B)
B606Air Tractor AT-802AVH-FCOSingle Engine Air Tanker (SEAT) / Bomber (B)
B610Air Tractor AT-802VH-JIDSingle Engine Air Tanker (SEAT) / Bomber (B)
BD123Cessna CitationJet CJ1VH-RMBBirddog (BD)
FB661Eurocopter AS 365N3 Dauphin 2N82MDFirebird (FB)
FB662Aérospatiale SA 365N1 Dauphin 2N97MDFirebird (FB)
FB663Eurocopter AS355F-1 Twin SquirrelVH-YUQFirebird (FB)
FS125Beech B200T Super King AirVH-LABFire Scan (FS) / Line Scan
FS201Cessna Citation EncoreN561CGFire Scan (FS) / Line Scan
HT671Bell 214BP2-MSAHelitack (HT)
HT672Bell 214B-1 BigLifterN234PHHelitack (HT)
HT673Bell 214BN254SMHelitack (HT)
HT674Bell 214BN49732Helitack (HT)
HT733Sikorsky S-64E SkycraneN154ACHelitack (HT)

References
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  2. Medlen, Pamela; Searson, Amelia. "Perth Hills bushfire emergency warning zone shrinks as number of homes lost reaches 86". ABC News. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  3. "Western Australia in November 2020: very warm in the eastern half; wet in the north and southwest". Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  4. "ABC News". Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
  5. Dugan, Brianna (2 February 2021). "In the Line of Fire". West Australian. p. 12.
  6. Hampton, Shannon; Rintoul, Caitlyn; Steger, Sarah (4 February 2021). "Worst is not over". West Australian. p. 7.
  7. "Three houses burned down as out-of-control Perth Hills bushfire threatens more homes". www.abc.net.au. 1 February 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  8. "Perth Hills bushfire devastation as 80 per cent of properties lost in estate east of Perth". www.abc.net.au. 2 February 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  9. "Live: DFES Commissioner warns more homes likely to be confirmed lost in coming days". www.abc.net.au. 2 February 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  10. Shepherd, Briana (2 February 2021). "Perth Hills bushfire devastation as 59 homes lost to bushfire east of Perth". www.abc.net.au. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  11. Butler, Steve; Manning, Ernie (3 February 2021). "Desperate bid to save racehorses". West Australian. p. 5.
  12. "Winds, terrain make fire fight harder". PerthNow. 3 February 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  13. "At least 71 homes gone in hills blaze". PerthNow. 2 February 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  14. "Live: Perth bushfire emergency live news: Firefighters battling difficult conditions as they work to contain blaze". www.abc.net.au. 2 February 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  15. McLellan, Ben (3 February 2021). "Wooroloo bushfire emergency: Bullsbrook Australian Defence Force base evacuated". West Australian. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  16. "Power restored to all but 800 homes, but recovery will last 'weeks, not days'". www.abc.net.au. 4 February 2021. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  17. "Fire cause NOT criminal: Police". PerthNow. 3 February 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  18. Hickey, Phil; Ryan, Katie (4 February 2021). "Police not treating inferno as suspicious". West Australian. p. 8.
  19. "PM pledges 'Australia is with you WA'". West Australian. 4 February 2021. p. 8.
  20. "AvonLink disruption". Transwa. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  21. "Prospector disruption". Transwa. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  22. "MerredinLink disruption". Transwa. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  23. Hamlyn, Charlotte; Perpitch, Nicolas; Searson, Amelia (3 February 2021). "Strong easterly winds set to test firefighters as massive Perth Hills blaze rages on". www.abc.net.au. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  24. Boseley, Matilda; Rachwani, Mostafa (4 February 2021). "'Truly remarkable': WA premier praises effort to save Perth hills township from raging bushfire". the Guardian. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  25. "New outbreak on edge of massive bushfire raging near Perth as house losses rise to 81". www.abc.net.au. 4 February 2021. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  26. Hampton, Shannon; Hirini, Rangi; Rintoul, Caitlyn; Emery, Kate; Ryan, Kate; Steger, Sarah (5 February 2021). "How our firefighting airforce stopped this monster fire in its tracks". West Australian. p. 8.
  27. "Homes gutted in massive Perth Hills bushfire reaches 86 as catastrophe declared". www.abc.net.au. 4 February 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  28. "Hills residents to be able to see razed homes". PerthNow. 5 February 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  29. "Bullsbrook fire not work of fire bug". PerthNow. 5 February 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  30. Zadvirna, Daryna; Hickey, Phil (5 February 2021). "Anatomy of ground zero". West Australian. p. 7.
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  32. Kagi, Jacob. "Coronavirus lockdown for Perth and South West leaves WA facing a week like no other". ABC News. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  33. Thompson, Brad. "WA battles COVID, fires near Perth and wild weather in the Pilbara". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  34. Al Jrood, Tabarak. "Perth family speak of devastation after losing their Wooroloo home in Perth Hills bushfire". ABC News. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  35. "The eleven big questions about the Wooroloo fire answered". The West Australian. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  36. "West Australian Mayor's relief fund opens after 'heartbreaking' devastation". West Australian. 4 February 2021. p. 7.
  37. Purnell, Kate (4 February 2021). "Rio Tinto donates millions to devastated communities". The West Australian. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  38. Purnell, Kate (5 February 2021). "Millions donated". West Australian. p. 11.
  39. Prior, Neale (5 February 2021). "Insurance pain fears". West Australian. p. 8.
  40. "Bushfire.io". Retrieved 3 February 2021. - noting that information is available when craft are in the air during daylight hours
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