Boddington bushfire: Threat downgraded to advice, residents allowed to return with caution

An out-of-control bushfire near Boddington has been downgraded to an advice alert, with the Narrogin evacuation centre closed and residents allowed to return with caution.

The advice is in place for people in the Boddington town site and for people in an area north of Pinjarra Williams Road and west of Bannister Marradong Road and an area north and west of Boddington Gold Mine in parts of Bannister, Boddington, Marradong and Wuraming in the Shire of Boddington.

The evacuation centre was moved on Boxing Day from the Williams Sports Pavilion to the Narrogin Regional Leisure Centre, and closed on Saturday morning.

The fire is still not contained or controlled, but the blaze is now moving slowly within containment lines, and firefighters on the ground are blacking out and strengthening containment lines.

Bannister Marradong Road from Pinjarra-Wiliams Road to Albany Highway and Crossman Road from Bannister Marradong Road to Albany Highway have been reopened.

Several roads remain closed however, including Gold Mine Access Road and mine site access tracks.

In a community update meeting on Friday afternoon, Incident Control Officer Phil Brandrett said it was important everyone adhered to vehicle control points and directions given by firefighters.

“We’re trying to tell people it’s not worth it to try and cheat and jump the road blocks or go the back ways,” he said.

“If the roads are closed, they are closed for a reason.

“We can’t account for you if we don’t know where you are.

“This is the place to be, this is where you can be registered and we can look after you.”

The Department of Fire and Emergency Services also urged motorists on Albany Highway to slow down and drive carefully, as the highway close to the fire is obscured by smoke.

The blaze was downgraded to a watch and act just before 7.30am on Boxing Day, with the Department of Fire and Emergency Services saying favourable conditions overnight with increased humidity helped firefighters consolidate containment lines.

It was downgraded again to advice just after 10.30am on Saturday.

All residents in the Boddington townsite were urged to evacuate on Christmas Day, with an evacuation centre initially set up at the Williams Sports Pavilion.

About 80 people spent Christmas night at the centre, according to DFES.

Boddington Hospital was closed on Christmas Day, with the WA Country Health Service telling anyone in need of medical assistance to go to Armadale Hospital instead.

WACHS said staff had been evacuated, and the hospital would stay closed until further notice.

The blaze has burned through 4088ha of land and remains out of control and uncontained, moving in a north easterly direction.

More than 200 firefighters deployed over Christmas Day and Boxing Day to help save the Boddington town site and surrounding farmland.

Crews from the Boddington Gold Mine are also providing firefighting support with machinery and emergency response teams.

Aerial support remained on scene until last light on Christmas Day, with 13 aircraft attending to assist crews on the ground and all returning on Boxing Day.

DFES Commissioner Darren Klemm said on Friday it had been a challenging 48 hours for firefighters, with crews working overnight, and throughout Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to save homes and lives.

“The bush fire came within 2km of the Boddington town site last night,” he said.

“Firefighters have done an incredible job protecting lives and homes.”

Mr Klemm said there had been no reports of property loss as of Friday morning.

“Crews have been up against extremely challenging and erratic bush fire behaviour – with gusty winds which changed direction throughout the night, dense fuel loads and spotting more than 250m from the fire,” he said.

“They have managed to hold back the fire from the town site, working tirelessly through the night to build containment lines and prioritising the protection of homes and assets.”

Shire of Boddington president Eugene Smalberger praised the efforts of the hundreds of firefighters working tirelessly throughout Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day to save properties, homes and the BOddington town site.

Cr Smalberger said the fire was originally started by lighting almost two weeks ago, and flared up again when temperatures in the area rose on Christmas Eve.

“We have firefighters here from all different towns, we can’t say no to any help, and it’s always great to see everyone comes and lends a hand, Newmont have supplied equipment as well,” she said.

“They are all doing everything they can and working very hard.”

A community update meeting was held at the Williams evacuation centre on Friday afternoon, with Incident Control Officer Phil Brandrett telling residents firefighters would do everything they could to get everyone home as soon as possible.

“There’s quite a lot of resources of fire trucks in the paddocks ready to address it as it comes out into the paddocks, and try and minimise its growth through the paddocks, because it will run very fast, up to five kilometres an hour in the current winds we’ve got.

“We’ve got a challenge ahead of us, no mistake, but I can say we haven’t had any losses of assets or property that we’re aware of, and that’s a great thing.”

“We just ask for your patience in the coming days, hopefully we’re able to let you go back as soon as possible, back into your homes, and change those warnings so they’re more appealing to you,” he said.

“Just understand you’re not alone, we’re all here working to try and do our best to make sure it’s safe before you go back in.

Mr Brandrett also confirmed the blaze had caused “significant damage” to infrastructure at the gold mine, particularly their water supply.

“Some of the pipes and some of the power generation and the communications at the mine have been affected,” he said.

“So one of our priorities with the mine is to assist them to assess the road into the mine, make it safe and enable them to get teams in to assess the damage and do the remediation of repairs, to reinstate a level of normality so they can start putting people back in and restart operations.”

The bushfire, which started near the Boddington Gold Mine, was upgraded to an emergency warning just before 4.30pm on Christmas Eve.

Western Power has advised power supply to parts of Ranford, Bannister, Marradong, Lower Hotham and Boddington has been affected.

A bushfire advice warning is also in place for people in an area west of Albany Highway and north of Marradong Road, Lucev Road to the south and South Crossman Road to the east in parts of Bannister, Boddington, Crossman, Dwarda, Lower Hotham, Marradong, Ranford, Wandering and Wuraming in the shires of Boddington and Wandering.

BUSHFIRE ADVICE - RETURN WITH CAUTION - BANNISTER, BODDINGTON, MARRADONG AND WURAMING

WHAT TO DO

• Continue to stay alert and monitor your surroundings.
• Watch for signs of a bushfire, especially smoke and flames.
• Be aware of other potential dangers such as falling trees and damaged properties and infrastructure.
• Close all doors and windows and stay inside if smoke is causing you concern.
• Be ready if the situation escalates. Read through your plan. If you do not have a plan, make one now on Emergency WA or in the Emergency WA app.

If driving

• Turn your headlights on and drive slowly.
• Watch for emergency services personnel and follow their directions.
• If you cannot see clearly, pull over, keep your headlights and hazard lights on, and wait until the smoke clears.
• If you have a respiratory condition and you have been affected by smoke you should contact your local doctor or call Health Direct on 1800 022 222.