REVEALED: Western Power planned to fix power lines that caused Wickepin blaze but didn’t get there in time

Western Power had plans to fix “drooping” power lines near Wickepin but failed to do so before they caused a devastating fire that destroyed more than 18,000ha of farmland and killed thousands of sheep. Farmers were left reeling last week when the Department of Fire and Emergency Services released the findings of its investigation into the cause of the blaze — referred to as the Wickepin-Narrogin fire — on February 6. The DFES investigation revealed overhead powerlines “coming together” in extreme conditions caused the fire that started near the intersection of Williams-Kondinin and Armstrong roads 15km south-west of Wickepin. Countryman can today reveal Western Power was aware there was an issue and had plans to mitigate the “risk of conductor clashing” in the area on or after February 22. But the energy provider’s plans were two weeks too late after soaring temperatures of 40c and windy weather caused the lines to “come together” in extreme weather conditions, sparking the February 6 blaze. More than 18,000ha of farmland was destroyed in the fire, which killed or severely injured thousands of sheep, and laid ruin to hundreds of thousands of dollars of sheds, fencing and other infrastructure. A second fire broke out at the same location five days later on February 11 — when the temperature reached a top of 41c — which locals believe was also caused by the power lines. A Western Power spokeswoman said it accepted DFES’ findings and was conducting its own investigation into the first incident. She said the findings would be provided to a Department of Mines, Industry and Safety division called Building and Energy within the month. A Western Power spokeswoman said lines or conductors required a “minimum separation distance” but could be brought closer by wind and high temperatures. “A range of factors contribute to the distance between conductors which change due to environmental conditions, such as the wind direction and strength and high ambient temperatures which contribute to conductors having more sag,” she said. “The day the bushfire occurred followed a series of hot days and winds from a northerly direction.” The spokeswoman said Western Power conducted regular inspections to manage the “risk of conductor clashing” through regular inspection, fault response and protection devices which trip off power when they detect a fault. “Western Power had planned works to mitigate this risk in the area from February 22,” she said. “This work has now been completed, mitigating further risks of conductor clashing in the area.” Yilliminning resident Courtney Wright said she was disappointed with a “lack of communication” from both Western Power and DFES in regards to the cause of the blaze. “There have been no attempts to give us a duty of care call or email to let us know the cause of the fire,” she said. Ms Wright also queried why any issue with the lines hadn’t been addressed before the weekend of February 5-6, when high winds and soaring temperatures meant firefighters were left to battle four level-three emergency blazes across WA for the first time. Wickepin farmer Jordan Flavel was one of the first on the scene of the February 6 blaze and said locals saw the second fire start at the same location on February 11. He questioned why Western Power had not “put a pole up” as soon as it was safe to do so after the first fire. “They should have been straight on to it the next day or at least well before the 11th,” Mr Flavel said. “The same thing happened, it was just so lucky that someone was there and stopped the fire or it would have happened all over again.” Volunteer firefighter Alastair McDougall, of Narrogin, said locals believed it was the worst blaze the area had seen since 1953. He said it was disappointing both DFES and Western Power had not acknowledged the second fire was also caused by the powerline, and questioned how long the line had been at-risk of touching. “The big question is, how long was it like that before they decided to do anything about it,” he said. Liberal MLC Steve Martin, who farms at Wickepin, said it was “devastating news” that Western Power had planned to “fix this problem before the fire”. “If this work had been done a couple of weeks earlier the enormous loss of livestock, farming infrastructure and natural bushland could have been prevented. “Western Power knew they had a problem, didn’t fix the problem before the fire and the rest is history. “ The announcement of the cause of the Wickepin-Narrogin fire means the cause of all four blazes from the horror weekend of February 5 and 6 have been determined. DFES confirmed the fire that started at Shackleton and burned 40,000ha to Corrigin, was ignited by an authorised stubble burn conducted “days before the fire”. The Bridgetown fire was sparked by a tree falling on a powerline, while the Denmark fire was started by an incinerator on private property.