margaret river fire

[† Talena Mae]

How stupid can you get?

A fire in Perth's eastern suburbs has been nearly contained but authorities say there's still a possible threat to lives and homes.

The fire, which was reported in Martin at 11.16am (WST), has burnt 25 hectares with flames reaching up to three metres high.

Roleystone District High School was also evacuated about 12.30pm as a precaution.

The Fire and Emergency Services Authority says the fire advice has been downgraded to a watch and act alert.

Graduating year 12 students need new vacation location

Up to 350 school leavers will have to make new plans for graduation celebrations because of a bushfire that continues to burn in Western Australia's southwest.

Along with Rottnest Island, the southwest region is the most popular destination for Year 12 students celebrating the end of school in WA.

A blaze in the area began on Wednesday morning after a prescribed burn by the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) in the Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park got out of control.

About 2000 hectares have been burnt so far, damaging 11 homes and nine chalets.

While school leavers travelling to the Dunsborough and Busselton areas have been advised they can travel as planned, those heading to Margaret River and Prevelly have been told to make other plans.

The DEC says about 140 teenagers won't be able to go to the Prevelly Park Caravan Park as planned.

The caravan park has been attempting to contact them.

Geographe Bay Tourism Association is working with its accommodation members to find alternative places for school leavers whose plans are affected by the fire.

Rottnest Island has beds available for school leavers who need to change their plans.

Police say about 8000 teenagers are expected to celebrate the end of school in the southwest Shire of Busselton.

Updates are available on the Official Leavers WA 2011 Facebook page.

Police recommend school leavers planning to travel to the Margaret River area check on their accommodation before they set off.

WA unready for bushfire season - report

Perth's eastern suburbs have been issued a bushfire emergency warning as six homes face the threat of serious damage from a nearby blaze.

Tabling the Community Development and Justice Standing Committee report in Parliament today, chairman Tony O'Gorman said from the 55 recommendations made in the Keelty Report, only nine would be completed by the official start of the bushfire season on December 1.

This is despite Premier Colin Barnett previously saying the state Government would adopt most of the recommendations, he said.

The damning report by former Australian Federal Police boss Mick Keelty examined February's Perth Hills bushfire in which 72 homes were destroyed.

Mr O'Gorman said the Parliamentary committee heard evidence from Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan, Fire and Emergency Services Authority (FESA) chief executive officer Wayne Gregson and Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) director-general Keiran McNamara.

He said they assured the committee that WA was better prepared for the forthcoming bushfire season than it was last year.

However, the United Fire Fighters Union of WA told the committee they were concerned about staff training, lack of staff and lack of equipment.

The union concluded that fire services were only going to be effective and well coordinated if their control was brought under one agency, Mr O'Gorman said.

The committee also found that the Western Australian Local Government Association (WALGA) seemed to have made less effort to comply with the Keelty Report's recommendations than State Government agencies like FESA and DEC.

The report's 21 recommendations include that the Environment Minister and the Police and Emergency Services Minister should report to Parliament by December each year about the state of readiness of Government agencies tasked with fighting bushfires.

The committee also recommends introducing psychological testing of all FESA career staff and bushfire and rescue volunteers by the 2012-13 bushfire season.

Read more on the committee's recommendations.

Residents in East Martin to evacuate immediately

People living in the eastern part of Martin, in the city's east, have been warned there is a threat to lives and homes, and they must act immediately.

The Fire and Emergency Services Authority (FESA) says if people have not left yet, and the way is clear, they should leave immediately for a safer place and take a survival kit.

If the home is not prepared, it is too late and the safest option is to leave, FESA says.

For those who are completely prepared and plan to use their home as a shelter, FESA says people should start patrolling their property to put out spot fires.

Residents have also been warned to close doors and windows, and turn off evaporative air conditioners, but to keep water running through the system if possible.

Anyone who is away from home should not try to return as the road conditions in the area could be very dangerous, FESA says.

A case of bad timing: tourism tweets come under fire

A Margaret River tourism company was caught tweeting accommodation deals while bushfires were destroying homes and causing mass evacuations across the region - a move the bureau describes as a badly timed accident.

As more than 20 houses went up in flames, and 35 others were badly damaged Margaret River tourism were advertising accommodation deals in the area on twitter, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

"Looking for a last minute weekend escape to #Margaretriver? Check out these great rates," @MargaretRiverAU tweeted, including a link to their online bookings page, just after 8am today.

The tweet has since been removed.

A spokesperson for Augusta Margaret River Tourism Association said the tweet was pre-scheduled and had appeared accidentally.

It's too late, residents must stay and fight

Residents who haven't already fled their homes in a bushfire-threatened area of Western Australia have been told it's too late to do so.

At least 20 homes were destroyed by a fast-moving and out-of-control bushfire which swept through the Margaret River region yesterday.

FESA chief Wayne Gregson told Perth Now 1800ha of bush had been burnt out and the weather remained unpredictable.

Gusty 65km/h winds expected today could further flare up existing fires which had burnt throughout the night.

"I am still not confident we have things under control and today we face another unpredictable and difficult day,'' Mr Gregson said.

"It is a very volatile situation.

"The issue with the winds they are unpredictable, we have worked through the night to put in containment lines or fire breaks. But it It is a very unpredictable and volatile situation.

"Potentially it could put further properties under threat.''

People living in the Kilcarnup, Prevelly and Wallcliffe subdivisions and north of Wallcliffe Rd and east of Caves Rd have now been told to stay if they wish to defend their property.

This morning, local residents were vocal in their criticism of how the blaze may have been started by a DEC burn-off.

"All my bits and pieces that make me are gone," Marjorie Stewart, who was among dozens of people reeling from their sudden loss.

The fire began after an ember escaped a prescribed burn to get out of control in the nearby Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park.

Hundreds of people were evacuated from Prevelly, Gnarabup and other communities in the popular tourist region as more than 100 firefighters battled the blaze assisted by aerial water bombers.

At the evacuation centre in the Margaret River township last night, the Stewarts saw aerial footage of the house they built at Orchid Ramble in 2002, burnt through with its roof caved in.

"We've got our lives but lost all our little bits and pieces that shouldn't mean anything, but they do," Ms Stewart, a school dental therapist, said.

"I'm really angry with those who lit the fires.

" I hope they look after us because it's their fault, we've lost everything.

"Our fish are fried and our beautiful staghorns are gone, however many souvenirs from holidays, all my bits and pieces that make me are gone.

"That stuff you can't replace.'

Mr Stewart, a teacher at Margaret River Senior High School, raced back to their house on hearing of the fire threat and filled the roof gutters with water.

"Now I wish I hadn't spent so much time on that, I might have been able to get a bit more stuff out," he said, after only saving a few pictures and documents.

He said he could not understand why the DEC had been burning when weather information available on the internet indicated it was not a good time for it.

taken from: http://www.news.com.au/travel/news/catastrophic-fire-rating-for-central-west/story-e6frfq80-1226204057374

This was a "controlled" burn off. How stupid can they get? they knew the temps yesterday were high (36*c, about 91f) with a wind gust of 50kmph and they still did it? Wouldnt one think "oh crap, it is hot and windy, an ember could be blown away and start a major bush fire."

But no, the tools went and started the back burn anyway! DEC have some explaining to bloody well do!

[ZeroPenguins]

Yeah I have to agree with you, how stupid can people get sometimes. Today was almost 40C, on my RX8 it said 39C outside and man it was hot. Luckily I live far away from that place, well near the airport to be exact. Well hope no one on here was affected by the fire.

[lemmingllama]

This astonishes me, normally government people are vaguely smarter about this kind of thing. I sincerely hope that noone was majorly affected by this. And the title threw me off btw, I thought that a river was on fire or something

[† Talena Mae]

No loss of life thus far, just a lot of poeple homeless =( "damaging 11 homes and nine chalets."

It is just like the black satuday fires *sigh* tools

I live near the beach Darkness so i am well away from it

[ZeroPenguins]

No loss of life thus far, just a lot of poeple homeless =( "damaging 11 homes and nine chalets."

It is just like the black satuday fires *sigh* tools

I live near the beach Darkness so i am well away from it

Black saturday fire was a lot worst, a lot of people died and way more homes were destroyed. I believe over 150 people died and over 2000 homes were destroyed. So if you're comparing it to black saturday this is not as bad. But I rather not have any fire to be begin with.

[† Talena Mae]

Black saturday fire was a lot worst, a lot of people died and way more homes were destroyed. I believe over 150 people died and over 2000 homes were destroyed. So if you're comparing it to black saturday this is not as bad. But I rather not have any fire to be begin with.

Maybe i am thinking of another one... it was a few years ago now =S

That one was hell though, I still think about all the people who died then =(