Firefighters plead for care ahead of strong wind warning

The notice was shared by other volunteer fire brigades within the shire with a warning to extinguish private burn offs. 

“Volunteer Brigades around the region have attended a bunch of escaped burns from property owners in recent days and we really don't want to be chasing fire in a storm,” the group said in a Facebook post on Monday.

“We really appreciate all the great work people have been doing in reducing the fuel loading around their properties but we now ask you to bring it to an end and ensure all burn piles are fully extinguished in the next 24 hours.”

The notice comes after a week of hard work for fire crews in the region, conducting burn offs in National Park areas to reduce fuel loads ahead of the next bushfire season.

The brigade said a number of out-of-control burns on private properties had forced crews in the area to divert their attention away from the prescribed burns. 

“All DPAW resources need to be tasked to patrolling their own burns, not wasting efforts on private landowner burns,” another post read on Tuesday morning.

“They've got 20 trucks in the region at the moment and yesterday a lot of them were diverted to deliberately lit bushfires and private property escaped burns.

“The Volunteer Brigades need to be focused for real emergencies not running around mopping up poorly managed burn piles.

“Please take responsibility for your burn and ensure it is completely extinguished today. No burning embers. No hot ash. No more burn piles this week please.”

A bushfire advice was issued to residents in Courtenay, Karridale, Kudardup, Forest Grove, Warner Glen, Alexandra Bridge and Nillup on Tuesday afternoon after a fire started near the intersection of Brockman Highway and Beck Road in Courtenay.

Meanwhile, a heated debate over the smoke haze and necessity of the burns erupted online last week. The Wallcliffe Brigade agreed that the town’s recent blanket of smoke was “bloody frustrating” but critical to the safety of homes and residents. 

“All the recent large scale burns have been undertaken by DPAW crews. We can’t thank them enough.

“They are taking advantage of these perfect, once in a lifetime conditions. With no rain on the horizon and low winds they will continue to actively burn for at least the the next week, or until they fall over from exhaustion.

“Once these burns are completed the Margaret River townsite will have up to 5 to 6 years of critical protection and minimal disruption to the community, tourism and the wine industry going forward.”