(AU ABC) Gascoyne Bushfires Burn For Two Weeks, Killing Livestock, Destroying Land And Devastating Pastoralists

ABC Pilbara - Michelle Stanley

Four fires have been burning across the Gascoyne region for the past two weeks. (Supplied: Department of Fire and Emergency Services)

Key Points 340,000 hectares of land in WA's Gascoyne has been destroyed by fire Hundreds of livestock on Meedo Station died in the blaze Meedo's Chris Higham says pastoralists are thankful for no loss of human life

For the past two weeks, pastoralists, including Tim and Chris Higham, in Western Australia's Gascoyne region have been battling ferocious bushfires that have destroyed property and livestock.

Meedo Station, 800 kilometres north of Perth, has for more than 16 years been home to the Higham family, who run cattle, sheep and goats.

When lightning struck on January 6, three fires broke out in the area, plus another further north. 

Combined with strong winds and a significant fuel load, two of the fires joined together to form one mammoth blaze.

Chris Higham says she has never seen such a ferocious bushfire. (Supplied: Kaufmann Productions PL)

"We've had fires previously, but nothing quite as ferocious as this one," Mrs Higham said.

"The [fire] that came up from Woodleigh Station covered ground in 10 hours that they'd modelled it to do in 48.

"It was very fast, very hot."

In an early estimation, Mrs Higham believed at least 60 per cent of her station's productive land and kilometres of fencing had been destroyed in the blaze.

At least 300 sheep and an unknown number of goats were believed to have died.

Mrs Higham said she could not yet put a figure on the loss to the station.

"There are patches that look like a bit of a moonscape.

"It's just been razed." 

The Gascoyne region received unusually high rainfall in 2021, creating a significant fuel load. (Supplied: Department of Fire and Emergency Services)

Fires contained, but extreme temps, winds forecast

The Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) said the four fires had been brought under control and were contained, but authorities were cautious, with extreme temperatures and winds forecast over the weekend.

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More than 340,000 hectares have been burnt across the Gascoyne Complex fires, according to DFES incident controller Peter Norman.

"They were very fast [moving] but in this type of grassland and heat, that is understandable in these temperature and wind conditions," he said.

"They were moving [up to] 10 kilometres per hour at their peak.

"It's very undulating, very steep … very hard to get enough machines and resources there to stop that."

The Gascoyne Complex bushfires in January. (Supplied: Department of Fire and Emergency Services)

Mr Norman said pastoralists in the region were assisted by crews from DFES, the Parks and Wildlife Service, and local government, and volunteer bushfire brigades attended from across the state.

Ground crews were also aided by a Coulson 737 FireLiner, which had a retardant capability. 

"They travel at 850km/hr with 15,000 litres of water or retardant to quell any escalating incident, Mr Norman said.

According to DFES, 90,000 litres of retardant was dropped over the Gascoyne Complex fires. 

A second Coulson 737 FireLiner has been supplied by the NSW Rural Fire Service. (Supplied: Department of Fire and Emergency Services)

Best of years up in smoke

After decades of drought, 2021 had been a particularly good year for rainfall in the region.

The town of Carnarvon, 100km north of the station, recorded more than 400 millimetres for the year, compared to an average of 187.

According to Mrs Higham, it had been a "one-in-a-hundred-year" season, which added to the loss.

Three fires on pastoral stations in the Gascoyne converged to form one massive bushfire. (Supplied: Chris Higham, Meedo Station)

Despite the devastation, the Highams are trying to remain positive. 

"It's stock, it's dirt, it's significant, but it's not as significant as losing people," Mrs Higham said.

"At the end of the day, we've got to count our blessings." 

YouTube How to prepare for bushfires | Emergency Tips 3min 10sec

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