WA’s Bushfire Crisis: ‘Decades of Mismanagement’ Blamed for Devastating Wildfires That Torched 200,000 Hectares
- Farmers and volunteer firefighters slam WA government’s Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) for ‘negligent’ management of national parks and reserves
- Decades of inaction on mitigation measures led to catastrophic bushfires that ravaged 200,000 hectares of bushland along WA’s southern coast
- Locals demand independent review of DBCA’s fire mitigation strategy and call for department to be stripped of management responsibilities
In a scathing indictment of the Western Australian government’s handling of national parks and reserves, farmers and volunteer firefighters have blamed ‘decades of mismanagement’ by the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) for the devastating bushfires that torched over 200,000 hectares of bushland along the state’s southern coast last month.
The fires, sparked by dry lightning storms, left an ugly scar through much of the National Heritage-listed Fitzgerald River National Park, with locals describing the devastation as ‘heartbreaking’ and ‘totally unnecessary’.
Amanda Giles, whose family farm borders the Dunn Rock Nature Reserve, said she was forced to pull kangaroos out of dams after they were burnt and jumped in to try and cool off. ‘There’s a lot of dead wildlife up on the rock as well,’ she said, her voice shaking with emotion.
At a debrief session in Lake King, locals expressed frustration at the massive accumulation of fuel in the reserve, which had not been burned in decades. ‘More needs to be done with the mitigation out on these reserves,’ Giles said. ‘We’re in the middle of nowhere, we’re a bit forgotten about.’
Veteran firefighter John Iffla, who farms on the western edge of the national park in Bremer Bay, said the fires did not have to happen on such a massive scale. ‘We should be able to maintain these fires into 20,000-hectare pockets easily in most situations,’ he said. ‘But to have something on this scale is totally unnecessary.’
Iffla blamed DBCA for stopping maintenance of access tracks within the park about 10 years ago, which broke the park up into cells that made a firefighting response more manageable. ‘If we cannot access it, they are going to have to accept that every 20 years we’re going to lose the whole park for not having maintained some sort of a break system,’ he said.
The lack of maintenance and mitigation was compounded by the fact that any fire response in the area falls to volunteers from the communities surrounding the reserves. Local brigades were still reeling from the tragic deaths of two local volunteers in mid-December, adding to the frustration with DBCA.
‘They are really being … totally negligent of their obligations to the communities surrounding these parks and reserves that they manage,’ Iffla said. ‘The government is … heavily relying on those people to come put these mega fires out, plus the farming community to actually protect their lands.’
Analysis: What This Means for Australia
The devastating bushfires in Western Australia’s southern coast have raised serious questions about the state government’s management of national parks and reserves. The lack of mitigation measures and maintenance of access tracks has been blamed for the catastrophic scale of the fires, which has left a scar through the National Heritage-listed Fitzgerald River National Park.
Security analysts say the fires have exposed the vulnerabilities of WA’s bushfire management approach, which relies heavily on volunteers from local communities to respond to fires. ‘The fact that DBCA has been accused of negligence and mismanagement raises concerns about the state’s ability to protect its natural assets and keep its communities safe,’ one analyst said.
Law enforcement insiders warn that the lack of investment in fire mitigation measures has created a ticking time bomb, with the potential for more devastating fires in the future. ‘The government needs to take responsibility for its failures and invest in proper mitigation measures to prevent these kinds of disasters from happening again,’ one insider said.
Industry observers believe the fires have also highlighted the need for an independent review of DBCA’s fire mitigation strategy. ‘It’s clear that the current approach is not working, and an independent review is needed to identify the root causes of the problem and recommend solutions,’ one observer said.
As the people of Western Australia come to terms with the devastation caused by the bushfires, one thing is clear: the state government must take immediate action to address the failures of its bushfire management approach and ensure that such a disaster never happens again.