A bushfire that is burning out of control was deliberately lit in an area that is close to 400-year-old red tingle trees, authorities say.
Just after midnight on April 25, firefighters responded to a fire near Walpole, along WA’s southern coastline, more than 400km south of Perth.
When firefighters arrived, they found seven ignition points that spanned 20km.
At a community meeting held on Friday, Parks and Wildlife incident controller Peter Masters said crews worked through the night trying to contain the fires but six remained active, then on Thursday became uncontained due to fuel loads in the area.
“The cause of the bushfire is definitely suspicious, seven ignition points over 20km, there’s no other way around it,” he said.
“The police have been involved and the arson squad are investigating and have been out on-site.
“We had some descriptions of a vehicle, which they are following up.”
About 70 firefighters from Parks and Wildlife, and local brigades around WA have been battling the blaze, which has now burnt through 8000 hectares.
“Firefighters have been confronting extreme fire behaviour, especially with the winds and high fuel loads … the fuel loads have ranged from 10 to 15 years of age,” Mr Masters said.
“The fires that have been affecting the northern part of the fire have been running hard with winds yesterday gusting up to 40km/hr, which caused that extreme fire behaviour and pushed west out towards farmlands.”
An emergency warning is still in place and there is a threat to lives and homes, which authorities expect to last another 24 hours.
Popular walking trails and tourist attractions in the area, such as the Valley of the Giants that are home to ancient trees, have been closed.
Mr Masters said they made sure there were no hikers on the trails where they could, but at the moment, they were not under any threat or in any danger.
He said the last few months had been very trying because it was so dry, which made the fire harder to contain and control once it spread.
“There has been a lot of concern about the impact on the forest environment, particularly because it is so dry this year and we are dealing with it as best we can,” he said.
“We’ve had a few little hop overs today but only 20m by 20m and ground crews were supported by water bombers so they have dealt with those.
“Currently, (the fire) is still within containment lines but it is not contained or controlled, although it is in the area we are trying to keep to.
“An emergency warning level is still in place.”