Bushfires in Australia 2012

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A large bushfire went for over six weeks through areas around Carnarvon in Western Australia. Surprisingly the fire didn’t receive much national coverage by Australian media. I have seen only a short report on TV.

Lightning strikes caused the first fire which was reported on December the 27th 2011. It burnt north of Carnarvon, east of the North West Coastal Highway, south of Minilya roadhouse and west of the Kennedy Range National Park. The National Park was closed as well as all roads leading into the park.

Fire fighters tried to protect several pastoral properties. Not a single station homestead was lost. More than 350 people from different organisations where involved fighting the fire.

The North West Coastal Highway was closed north and south of Carnarvon for a couple of days The highway has been reopened and closed several times since the fire affected the region.

Lightning strikes caused new fires in the region, this time mainly east of Carnarvon as far as Gascoyne Junction. In the last week of January areas south of Carnarvon were affected as well as coastal locations.

There were 29 different fires which burnt down around 820 000 hectares.

The weather situation was far from easy. On Wednesday January 26th 2012 the forecasted temperatures were 41 degrees Celsius with possible thunderstorms. The situation eased when the region received some good rainfall around the January 31st and February 1st 2012. The first “all clear” reports for some areas were issued on the February the 2nd. The last one I got hold of was on February the 13th.

Friday 6th of January 2012 – more than 8000 hectare are on fire in the Southern Flinders Ranges in South Australia. The fire is close to the township of Wilmington which is located around 285 kilometres north of Adelaide. Some farms are already affected. The people of Wilmington get ready for a possible evacuation. Strong northerly winds are forecasted for Saturday the 7th. That can push the fire towards the township.

Saturday the 7th January 2012: Early rain on Saturday morning was a great help to contain the fire around Wilmington. The town is no longer under threat. Watch the latest news, provided by ABC Australia on You Tube.

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