Walpole fire: People urged to ‘stay away’ from suspicious out-of-control blaze after drone impacts response

A drone has threatened to derail firefighting efforts in the midst of an ‘extreme’ inferno burning in WA’s south as authorities revealed there were seven ignition points believed to have triggered the deliberately lit blaze.

Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions incident controller Peter Masters urged people to “let firefighters do their job” after a drone was sent up over the fireground on Thursday.

“We ask people to stay away from the fire ground, let firefighters do their job for your own safety and ours, and under no circumstances put drones up over the fire ground, which we’ve had one already yesterday,” Mr Masters told locals at a community meeting at Walpole Community Hall on Friday.

“It does impact on our ability to use water bombers.”

It is the second drone incident in four months, following a drone operator halting operations for almost an hour during a major fire in Lancelin in December.

Mr Masters confirmed the bushfire was “definitely suspicious” and that investigators had supplied police with “some descriptions of a vehicle”.

It remains unclear if the arson squad has been called in to investigate.

“Seven ignition points over 20 kilometres — there’s no other way around it, it is suspicious,” he said.

The out-of-control blaze was sparked by several fires believed to have been deliberately lit in the early hours of Thursday morning near Nornalup, Middle and Boronia roads.

Mr Masters confirmed there is currently no damage to infrastructure but some damage to pasture.

About 100 firefighters continued to battle “extreme fire behaviour” in “tinder dry” conditions into Friday evening, he said.

Winds up to 40km/h on Thursday fanned the flames further, with the emergency area expanding significantly on Friday as people evacuated to Walpole Sport and Recreation Centre.

The incident controller praised the “fantastic support from the local community” for “everything from food to supplies and offers of assistance” to “farmers offering dams on their property to fill up with water”.

The huge bushfire is heading west and has already eviscerated 8000ha of the Walpole Wilderness Area.

Fixed-wing bombers and spotter planes are assisting fireys on the ground.

To report any suspicious behaviour, call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

For the latest updates visit Emergency WA, call 13 DFES (13 33 37), follow DFES on Facebook, listen to ABC Local Radio, 6PR, or local news bulletins.