Bushfire warning downgraded for Denmark townsite as gruelling firefight moves into second night

There has been some relief for nervous Denmark residents with the official bushfire warning for the townsite downgraded to an advice alert on Saturday night.

Just after 5pm on Saturday afternoon, the warning escalated to a watch and act for the entire townsite, with locals urged to leave or prepare to defend their homes.

The massive bushfire that has burned through 2500 hectares in the Great Southern was posing a “possible threat to live and homes” in the town, according to the Department of Fire and Emergency Service.

However that threat had eased by 8pm despite the south-westerly winds pushing the fire in the general direction of the town.

“There is no threat to lives or homes,” DFES said on Saturday night.

“Although there is no immediate danger you need to be aware and keep up to date in case the situation changes.”

Firefighters face their second night of trying to get on top of the blaze, which remains uncontained and out-of-control.

“Winds will continue to be variable this evening and overnight leading to unpredictable fire behaviour,” DFES said.

At a community meeting earlier on Saturday afternoon, Shire of Denmark president Ceinwen Gearon urged residents to be prepared to take action “sooner rather than later” as it was “very likely” the situation would escalate.

“I think that seriously anyone in the town site of Denmark should consider having a bag packed and ready to go with those essential things that you want to take with you,” she said.

A bushfire emergency warning is in place for people bounded by Boat Harbour Road and Board Road to Scotsdale Road and Barnes Road to the west, a line from Mount Lindesay Road to McNabb and Peace Street to the east, following South Coast Highway to Lights Road to the coast to the south in parts of Shadforth, Scotsdale, William Bay, Parryville, Mount Romance, Kentdale and Kordabup.

A bushfire watch and act is in place for people in an area north and east of the emergency warning area bounded by Barnes Road to Break Road to the west, Break Road to Nutcracker Road to the north, Denmark-Mount Barker Road to the east, following Wilson Inlet down south to the coast in parts of Denmark, Scotsdale, Mount Lindesay, Mount Romance and Hay.

A bushfire watch and act is also in place for people in an area to the west of the emergency warning bounded by Break Road and Nutcracker Road to the north, Denmark-Mount Barker Road to the east, E River Road, McLean Road and Scotsdale Road the south and Suttons Road and Barnes Road to the west in parts of Mount Lindesay, Denmark, Shadforth, Scotsdale, Mount Romance, Kordabup and Hay.

Speaking at Saturday’s community meeting, DFES incident controller Craig Garrett said “a lot of great work” had been done overnight to try to contain the fire on its north, east and south flanks.

However south-westerly winds were pushing the out-of-control fire towards the Denmark townsite.

The winds were expected to continue into the night.

“At the moment we have got south-westerly winds, so it is pushing the fire against its eastern side and the northern side. The south-westerly is starting to pick up,” he said.

“But at this stage the pressure is right on this eastern side.

“We have had some breakouts this morning on the north-eastern side and that is where the crews and the aircraft are at the moment really trying to get on top of that so they don’t have an extended breakout from the fire.

“There is a hell of a lot of work to be done to keep this fire in the box. It is not contained or controlled at the moment.

“Because we have these unburnt pockets against the edge that need to be dealt with and trapped, and they are still in the process of trying to do that, then the fire has every chance of escaping the fire line.”

Mr Garrett said that if the “the fire gets out and runs” there was “a lot of risk” of the fire moving towards the town.

Mr Garrett said 16 aircraft, including two large tankers and 150 firefighters are battling the blaze and strengthening containment lines with two crews on route from Perth.

“You don’t see these conditions very often,” he said.

Speaking at the community meeting, Denmark police-officer-in-charge Matt Hartfield urged the community to respect police officers and volunteers manning the road closures.

“Be kind to the people out there trying to look after our community,” he said.

Western Power has advised about 400 homes and businesses in Denmark remain without power after power was returned to about 1300 premises in the Walpole area by Saturday afternoon.

There is no timeline for when power will be restored in the Denmark area, as crews must wait until it is safe to access and assess the damage to power poles within the fire ground.

Evacuation centres are open at the Walpole Sport and Recreation Centre and Albany Leisure and Aquatic Centre.

Road closures remain at McLeod Road between Osborne Road and South Coast Highway, Point Hiller Vista and South Coast Highway between Parker Road and Sunrise Road.

William Bay National Park and Mount Lindesay National Park have been closed.

Sections of the Bibbulmum Track, Munda Biddi Track and Walpole Nondalup National Park have also been closed.

The fire started about 9.25am on Friday near the intersection of Bayview Rise and McLeod Road in Shadforth.

For updates, visit Emergency WA.