Port Denison fire: Western Power refuses to speculate as DFES believes electrical infrastructure sparked blaze

A “scary” bushfire emergency at the weekend that threatened lives and homes in and around Port Denison is believed to have been started by a fault with electrical infrastructure. Department of Fire and Emergency Services incident controller Brent Allen said preliminary investigations indicated the cause of the blaze was an electrical fault near Teatree Grove. The fire escalated into an emergency due to the high fuel load in the area and north-easterly winds fanning the flames towards the townsite, forcing an evacuation order. A Western Power spokesperson said they were aware DFES was investigating the cause of the fire and they were co-operating with them to find answers. “In accordance with our usual processes, Western Power is conducting an investigation into the incident,” they said. “As the investigation is still under way, is it not appropriate to speculate about the cause of the fire.” Firefighters saved homes in Port Denison and Springfield from the raging fire, which was reported on Friday afternoon to have started in the vicinity of Teatree Grove and Springfield Grove and razed more than 850 hectares. It was contained and controlled and downgraded to an advice alert on Sunday, prompting residents and fire crews to breathe a sigh of relief. No properties or homes were reported as damaged, despite the flames burning to the boundary of several properties and to the back of the Dongara golf course. Shire of Irwin president Isabelle Scott said she was grateful the evacuation of townspeople and livestock went smoothly. “It was an incredibly scary time on Friday afternoon but overall the evacuation was seamless,” she said. “I was relieved to see all livestock was evacuated safely which was fantastic, and members of the community did lots to support each other, keep everyone fed and alleviate fears.” Ms Scott said now the fire threat had been extinguished, there would need to be a lot of reflection to address any obvious gaps and ensure a fire of this nature did not happen again. The fire started in the vicinity of Teatree Grove and Springfield Grove, with residents from Port Denison, Dongara, Springfield and Yardarino instructed to evacuate the vicinity immediately to the evacuation centre established at Irwin Recreation Centre. “It escalated very rapidly mostly due to the fuel type. The fire was burning coastal health which immediately created a lot of heat and a lot of smoke as soon as it started,” Mr Allen said. “We mobilised crews and support straight away to support the local government response with an initial crew of 25 fighters, which was quickly upgraded to 70 to 80 firefighters and waterbombing aircraft.” Support crews from Geraldton, Kalbarri and Jurien Bay also rushed to the scene to help control the flames and protect houses and properties from being lost. Support crews from Perth arrived on Monday to help in the post-emergency work and give tired locals a well-deserved rest. Mr Allen thanked fire crews and volunteers for their “huge, combined effort”. Up to 80 firefighters on the ground and in water bombers in the sky battled the blaze, with the help of support crews from Geraldton, Kalbarri, Jurien Bay and Perth. On Monday he said there was likely “three or four more days of work” to “mop up” and urged residents to obey all instructions and advice. He said the protection of all properties in the emergency zone could be attributed to the tireless work of the emergency response crew on the ground and in the air. “We’ve probably got three or four more days of work here. We really need to mop up and make this fire safe, so we will have DFES crews here for multiple days,” he said. “We are also moving into the recovery phase. It is a bit of a transition, and we need to do a damage and impact assessment, as well as begin looking at rehabilitation by assessing the erosion and run-off impacts by the breaks and tracks made,” Mr Allen said. Mr Allen said now the fire had been downgraded in risk, controlled, and contained, DFES could start actively looking at how to transition back to a “normal state of operations” for the town. However, DFES said the community still needed to stay away from the area for the time being. “It’s still unsafe with lots of hotspots and we have got crew actively working on that fire ground, so please observe and obey all road closures,” Mr Allen said. “I must give a huge thank you to everyone who’s been involved, it’s been a huge, combined effort between emergency services and volunteers.”