Champion Lakes bushfire: Boy, 14, pleads guilty to arson after accidentally starting blaze with ‘campfire’

Two boys charged over a major bushfire in Perth’s southeast have faced court, with one pleading guilty to arson and his lawyer saying he just wanted a campfire but it spread out of control after he threw in accelerant. The blaze erupted at the rear of a semi-rural property near Mustang Road, Champion Lakes, around 3.30pm on Monday, burning more than 150ha of vegetation and private farming land. It caused minor structure damage, killed livestock and forced the partial closure of Tonkin Highway. Jadeon Ivey and his family had to scramble to prevent their neighbouring home and a paddock full of animals - eight sheep, one alpaca and a bull named Buster - from perishing. “We started smashing the back fences with water, then all of a sudden the fire has come in from the side and literally had us surrounded,” the 28-year-old told The West Australian. The family also prevented a 2024 Lamborghini Huracan worth $700,000 belonging to a relative - one of just two in Australia - from going up in flames. And as the small statured teens charged over the chaos appeared in Perth Children’s Court on Tuesday, the fire sparked up again, prompting a watch and act alert. The pair emerged from custody flanked by guards and one pleaded guilty immediately. His lawyer Elizabeth Needham said the boys were wards of the State who lived at a group home in the area and wanted “to create a little campfire at the back of the property that got out of control”. He used a lighter to start the blaze in a firebreak then caused a small explosion by hurling in an aerosol can. But he did not intend for it to get so big and did everything he could to try to put it out, Ms Needham said. He kicked sand over it, then called triple-0 and guided firefighters to the site of ignition when they arrived. “It’s not lighting a fire to watch it go up,” Ms Needham said. Magistrate Sarah Dewsbury granted the boy bail, noting he made full admissions as soon as possible. The other teen then appeared briefly, represented by a duty lawyer, who did not enter a plea on his behalf and secured him bail too. The boys have the same conditions: that they do not possess an ignition source and do everything the Department of Communities tells them to do. The pair were not ordered to have no contact with each other as both will be residing at the same facility for wards of the State. Ms Needham said her client could not return to the Champion Lakes property and the other facility was the only option for both of them. They would be supervised around-the-clock and their case managers were already “safety planning”, the lawyer said. Ms Needham said her client had ADHD and a criminal record, but not for offending of this type. Prosecutor Shontelle Samuel said he had just completed mandated community work hours for an unrelated offence “in a very short space of time” and did not oppose bail for either boy. The teen who made admissions will be sentenced on December 17. The other boy is next due to appear in court on the same date and will seek legal advice in the meantime. As 90 firefighters battled the out-of-control and fast-moving fire on Tuesday afternoon, an emergency warning remained in place for a blaze at Wedge Island, some 180km north of Perth.