page_title: 2015–16 Australian bushfire season
section_title: Western Australia
hierarchical_section_title: 2015–16 Australian bushfire season / Fires by state or territory / Western Australia
caption_attribution_description: Damage from the Waroona Fire
context_page_description: The most destructive bushfire season in terms of property loss since the 2008–09 Australian bushfire season, occurred in the summer of 2015–16, with the loss of 408 houses and at least 500 non-residential buildings as a result of wild fires between 1 June 2015 and 31 May 2016. The season also suffered the most human fatalities since the 2008–09 Australian bushfire season; 6 died in Western Australia, 2 in South Australia and 1 in New South Wales. 8 deaths were as a direct result of fire, and a volunteer firefighter died due to unrelated health complications while on duty.
  The season witnessed four notable fires; the Cascades fire in Western Australia, the Pinery fire in South Australia, the Great Ocean Road fire in Victoria, and the Harvey-Waroona fire in Western Australia.
context_section_description: October
  On 1 October, a bushfire destroyed 2 sheds and 6,500 hectares (16,000 acres) of bushland in the Town of Port Hedland municipality. Residents of Bosna Estate were evacuated before at least 20 firefighting appliances helped contain the blaze. The bushfire was first reported on 29 September.
  November
  During November, the Shire of Esperance suffered two significant fires and a fire complex; 128,000 hectares (320,000 acres) were burnt by the Cascades fire, 18,000 hectares (44,000 acres) were burnt by the Merivale fire, and 164,000 hectares (410,000 acres) were burnt by the Cape Arid complex of fires. On 17 November, during the major run of the Cascades fire, four civilian fatalities occurred in vehicles traveling on Griggs Road in Scaddan. The Cascades fire destroyed one house, 16 non-residential structures and dozens of vehicles. There was also significant damage to rural produce; approximately 4,500 head of livestock perished and 30,000 hectares (74,000 acres) of crop—constituting about 500,000 tonnes of grain—were burnt. In addition, the Merivale fire destroyed two houses in the Stockyard Creek area, and the Cape Arid complex destroyed large areas of Western Ground Parrot habitat.
  January
  During January, the shires of Harvey & Waroona suffered a number of significant fires; 70,000 hectares (170,000 acres) of forest and farmland were burnt by the largest of these fires, which ignited on the night of the 6 January and was dubbed the "Waroona" fire.
  On 7 January, two civilians perished when the fire-front of the Waroona fire burned into the center of the Yarloop townsite; Malcolm Taylor, 73, and Les Taylor, 77, both died within their own houses. During the time that the fire-front passed through Yarloop, it destroyed 121 houses, 18 buildings of commercial or community significance—including a fire station, a hospital, a hotel and a hall—and the historic Yarloop Workshops. In the 17 days between ignition and being extinguished, the Waroona fire destroyed at least 162 houses and a significant amount of other property in the communities of Cookernup, Hamel, Harvey, Lake Clifton, Preston Beach, Waroona, Wagerup and Yarloop. Public road access to Yarloop was not restored until seven months after the fire when roadblocks were finally removed 11 August 2016.
  Effects of the Waroona fire were widespread in southern Western Australia; falling ash in the Eaton, Australind and outer Bunbury areas caused service stations to stop pumping fuel, and the closure of both the Forrest Highway and South West Highway prompted the cancellation of the 2016 Southbound music festival when it cut off access to Busselton. However, the event was partly revived as a benefit concert to raise funds for fire victims.
  The size of the fire allowed the creation of its own weather pattern with rising heat and particulate matter facilitating the development of both pyrocumulus and pyrocumulonimbus clouds. The rare weather event created unpredictable winds with sudden gusts and changes in directions making it even more difficult for firefighters to control the blaze.
  A 'Special Inquiry Into the January 2016 Waroona Fire' was held by the Western Australian Government, headed by Euan Ferguson. Its 264-page report was released on 29 April 2016.
  March
  On 14 March, one townhouse and 12 hectares (30 acres) of parkland were destroyed by a fire that prompted evacuations at Edith Cowan University and damaged facilities at university situated in the City of Joondalup. A camper who had been lodging near Grassbird Avenue in Lake Joondalup Nature Reserve was charged for lighting the fire, allegedly to clear scrub near his camp site.
caption: Bushfire damage from the Waroona fire, January 2016
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