Irwin bushfire emergency: People told to leave area as fire crews continue to fight blaze in Mid West

Crews have gained the upper hand in a bushfire emergency in the Mid West, with the threat level downgraded to a watch and act on Sunday night.

Earlier in the afternoon, authorities were quietly confident of getting on top of the blaze, which has torn through about 3400 hectares of land and prompted a warning for people to stay away from Dongara.

The bushfire was threatening parts east of Dongara including Mt Adams, Irwin, Mt Horner and Yardarino in the shire of Irwin, with people urged to leave immediately as a 120-strong team of firefighters battles the blaze in harsh heat, with temperatures soaring past 40C.

“The alert level for this fire has been downgraded as fire behaviour has reduced,” the Department of Fire and Emergency Services stated in an update on Sunday evening.

Forecasted strong winds on Sunday afternoon did not eventuate on the ground, giving crews an opportunity to gain the upper hand, according to incident controller DFES Mid West-Gascoyne superintendent Mark Bowen.

The fire’s perimeter is 44km, and at its peak was moving at 3km/hr.

Around 2.30pm, Supt Bowen said good progress was being made and he was hopeful the blaze might be able to be contained overnight.

“I would hope, with nothing going wayward this afternoon, that we will get a track around most of it and that they’ll (fire crews) consolidate a lot of that work overnight, and then we will be able to look at some moving some of our resources into making the roadways safe, especially the major roads,” Supt Bowen said.

“Things are looking a lot better even though the fire has grown during the day. We are starting to have successes in tracking the eastern edge which was our big threat with the south westerly winds today.”

DFES was still warning people on Sunday night to only travel to Dongara for essential reasons.

“As the incident is expected to continue over the next several days, holiday makers planning to stay in Dongara should make alternative plans,” DFES warned.

The bushfire was declared an emergency on Saturday afternoon.

Supt Bowen expected the fire to continue to unfold over the next few days.

“Even though we still may be able to contain it by tomorrow morning there will still be a lot of mop up, there will still be risk with some of the winds,” he said.

“But we’ll be working on things like prioritising getting the roads back open, allowing community access in and around, especially, with the Brand Highway being closed.”

Supt Bowen is not aware of any reported property or livestock damage, but could not say when the roads would be reopened.

“There will be, no doubt, damage to fences and some power lines, but I’m not aware of anything else at this stage,” he said.

Brand Highway between Midlands Road and Eneabba-Coolimba Road and Midlands Road in both directions between Brand Highway and Mingenew remain closed.

Supt Bowen said the fire, at its peak, was “quite intense”.

“The settlement of Irwin, if the fire was to run on the southwest areas, is in the direct path of any potential fire runs. But at the moment, the volunteers and the farming community are doing some great work up in that corner and managing to hold it,” he said.

“We saw some quite intense fire behavior. The fire was moving up to 3km/hr, so it was moving quite fast. It was spotting well and truly ahead of the main firefront, which poses serious risk for firefighters and crews on the ground because they can become trapped between firefronts.”

Supt Bowen said local firefighters and farmers were being supported by crews and staff from Kalbarri in the north down to the bottom ends of the shire of Dandaragan, including from the Perth metropolitan area. A 50-person camp is being set up in Geraldton overnight for the visiting crews.

The bushfire was reported about 10.30am on Saturday.

As of Sunday night, 80 firefighters from the Bush Fire Service, Volunteer Fire and Rescue Service and Volunteer Fire and Emergency Services were battling the blaze on the ground with the help from aerial crews. Earlier in the day, up to 120 firefighters were involved in the active fight.

Fire crews are dealing with sweltering heat, with a maximum of 42C reached just after 10.30am, however winds are easing.

DFES is managing the fire, with help from farmer response units, SES volunteers, WA Police, St John Ambulance, Department of Communities, Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions’ Parks and Wildlife Service and Shire of Irwin staff.

Power to about 115 homes and businesses have been cut in Irwin, Milo, Dongara, Mount Horner, Mount Adams, Springfield and Yardarino.

13 DFES (13 33 37), SES 132 500, emergency.wa.gov.au, or download the Emergency WA app.