Wheatbelt fires: Disaster assistance funding available for Shires of Corrigin and Bruce Rock but not Wickepin

Farmers and businesses affected by devastating bushfires that ripped through the Shires of Bruce Rock, Corrigin and Bridgetown during the same weekend in February can now access disaster relief payments. Hundreds of firefighters and volunteers were deployed to battle the Corrigin-Shackleton, Narrogin-Wickepin, Denmark and Bridgetown blazes which burned at an emergency level during the weekend of February 5-6. The Shackleton blaze burned 40,000ha south to Corrigin after being ignited by a stubble burn authorised by the Shire of Bruce Rock and carried out “days before the fire” ignited due to strong winds and hot conditions. The Bridgetown blaze, which began accidentally on February 5 after a 30m tree fell on to a power line, destroyed more than 2200ha and forced residents in and near Bridgetown to evacuate to Manjimup. About 180 people stayed in an evacuation centre at the Manjimup Basketball Centre overnight. A joint State and Federal Government statement issued this month said disaster assistance was now available to help communities within the shires of Bridgetown-Greenbushes, Bruce Rock, and Corrigin recover from the impacts of the inferno, with families, businesses and the local government body able to make a claim. Those eligible are able to apply for a one-off payment or short-term financial support if they can show proof they had lost income as a direct result of the bushfire. But there will be no funding available for those in the Shire of Wickepin, despite more than 18,000ha of farmland being destroyed by a fire started by Western Power lines touching in high winds. A State Government spokesman said the Shire of Wickepin had “advised that impacts to local government infrastructure were not significant”. “The Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements are a joint Commonwealth and State funding arrangement, with strict eligibility criteria, established by the Commonwealth Government,” he said. “The Shire of Wickepin has advised the Department of Fire and Emergency Services that impacts to local government infrastructure were not significant, and DFES is not expecting the shire to request activation of the DRFA. “DFES is working with the Shire of Denmark to assess whether it has met the criteria for activation of the DRFA.” Emergency Services Minister Stephen Dawson said it was important for both Commonwealth and State Governments to provide financial support to assist with recovery. “Given the catastrophic fire conditions, I was very proud of all those involved in the emergency response,” he said. “It has been an incredibly difficult time for everyone involved and this financial assistance will help... Shires, individuals and families with relief and recovery costs. “The strength and resilience of the impacted community is immense and the WA Government will continue to work with our counterparts in Canberra to monitor the impacts of these fires to ensure assistance is timely and targeted.” Federal Emergency Management Minister Bridget McKenzie said the impact of the fires had been devastating. “These (Wheatbelt) bushfires burnt for several days and caused a significant amount of damage to local communities,” she said. “Future farm productivity could be diminished by loss of grain for stock feed and seed for planting crops, while the damage to native trees and shrubs will have future impacts on the local ecosystem. “By activating the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements, we can ensure that our communities that were affected by these bushfires can expedite their recovery and get back on their feet as quickly as possible.” Payments have been made available through the jointly funded Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements. Applications can be made on the Federal Government Disaster Assist website at disasterassist.gov.au/