BlazeAid teams arrive in Bridgetown after bushfires in regional WA, with plans to head to the Wheatbelt next

BlazeAid volunteers have started repairing hundreds of kilometres of fencing destroyed in a handful of bushfires that ripped through regional WA this month. The fires at Bridgetown, Narrogin, Corrigin and Denmark burnt more than 60,000ha between February 4 and 6, destroying farm infrastructure and killing thousands of livestock. The volunteer organisation set up camp on Sunday at the Bridgetown Showgrounds, where volunteers from across WA gathered before setting out to help local farmers on Monday. BlazeAid WA co-ordinator Judy Bland estimated up to 70km of fencing had been wiped out in the Shire of Bridgetown, but said the scale of destruction was far worse in the Wheatbelt. “Hundreds and hundreds of kilometres of fencing has been lost, particularly in the Narrogin Valley area,” she said. “Fences there are on both sides of the railway line, so where it dissects paddocks, instead of having a paddock with four fences, you’ve got a paddock with five or six fences. “It’s also along road verges that a lot of fencing has been lost.” Ms Bland, who lives in Bridgetown, said the Bridgetown camp would run for “at least four or five weeks” and there were plans to set up another camp in Bruce Rock within the next fortnight. “We will also either move down, or maybe have a separate camp at Corrigin, but at the moment, Western Power is using the rec centre there, so that’s not available to us,” she said. “If we can get hold of some more co-ordinators, there will be a camp to assist the farmers who were affected so badly in the Narrogin Valley area as well.” Each camp is provisioned with up to 10 work trailers worth about $30,000 each, which are fully kitted out with all the necessary tools so that farmers need only provide the materials. However, efforts to set up a Narrogin camp have been hindered because BlazeAid cannot afford the $40,000 it has been quoted to transport another set of trailers from Victoria to WA. Ms Bland said she hoped a “benevelont person or company” would sponsor some of the cost or offer a better transport rate. “There is also a possibility that there will also be a camp at Denmark, but it depends on the availability of volunteers and trailers, and whether there is sufficient need,” she said. While co-ordinating requires “a fair bit of responsibility and organisational capability”, Ms Bland said virtually anyone could volunteer to fix fences. “You don’t have to be a member to come and help, but you do have to be double vaccinated (against COVID-19),” she said. “Basically, anyone is welcome who is fit and able to go out and work on a fence line. “Just bring a positive attitude and a willingness to help those that have been affected, that’s the main thing.” BlazeAid was established in 2009 in the wake of the devastating Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria. Since then, its volunteers have responded to many natural disasters including floods, bushfires and cylones. Cyclone Seroja was no exception, with BlazeAid volunteers spending more than three months helping out after the category-three storm caused widespread destruction across the Mid West and Wheatbelt last April. But Ms Bland said this month’s bushfires were easily among the worst natural disasters to hit WA in recent years. “We’ve had some serious fires over here, but the fact that these all occurred within a day or so (was extraordinary),” she said. “In one day here, there was four level-three fires, which is pretty serious; that’s never happened before in WA.” Farmers seeking BlazeAid assistance need to register with their local Shire.