South West crews make four-hour trip north to battle Cervantes blaze

Fire crews from around the South West travelled to the Mid West late last month to offer much-needed help to battle an out-of-control fire.

Firefighters from around Bunbury, Capel and Dardanup, among others, made the close to four-hour trip north to Cervantes — two hours north of Perth — to help battle the blaze.

Four firefighters from the Bunbury Volunteer Bush Fire Brigade helped out as resources were stretched thin.

The brigade spent four days on the trip, helping with back-burning to prevent the fire spreading further.

Bunbury Volunteer Bush Fire Brigade captain Terri Kowal said the team were happy to help.

“We assisted with trying to contain the fire — up there the scrubland, there is a lot of the coastal heat type scrub, so it can be quite challenging and fast-moving,” she said.

“The majority of the work we did was actually back-burning rather than using water. That was alongside a lot of assistance from DBCA (the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions) and aerial support.”

The fireys were met with tough conditions as persistent winds and warm weather proved difficult.

The bushfire burned through 75,000ha of bushland, sparking emergency warnings for multiple towns in the area.

Ms Kowal said the experience was valuable for herself and her team.

“It’s good to be able to go and work with other brigades,” she said.

“Being familiar with the people you’re working with goes a long way when you’re on the fireground and being able to communicate and work together.

“Also travelling and going to fires like that is also beneficial for everybody because you’re fighting fires in different terrain, different types of fuels like the coastal heat.

“It’s good experience to go and see how fire behaves in that type of environment.”