A timeline of the Yanchep bushfire

PICTURES taken in mid-October show the environment is still recovering from the 2019 Yanchep bushfire but as many residents say without the efforts of fire and emergency service personnel the story could have been very different.

This timeline has been put together by so far reviewing more than 110 Emergency WA emails relating to the Yanchep bushfire.

By about 10pm one-year ago yesterday a bushfire reported at 2.16pm had burnt 550ha of land in the Yanchep area putting homes and lives in danger with 100 firefighters battling the blaze.

The bushfire was by that time being managed by the Department of Fire and Emergency Services after initially being managed by the Parks and Wildlife Service.

It had destroyed the Yanchep Service Station and a home as well as a section of power poles on Yanchep Beach Rd and Yanchep National Park had been evacuated.

There were reports the ember attack reached the service station on Kakadu Rd and the main shopping centre.

Residents in an area bounded by Yanchep Beach Rd and Old Yanchep Rd to the north, Indian Ocean Dr to the east and Marmion Ave to the west including Yanchep Golf estate and Yanchep National Park who had not heeded text messages to leave the area were on emergency alert.

By 7pm an evacuation centre for Yanchep residents fleeing the bushfire who had nowhere else to go had been set up at Gumblosson Community Centre in Quinns Rocks.

An alert at midnight to advise a bushfire watch and act applied to the area between Two Rocks and Eglinton to the west of Marmion Ave and Two Rocks Dr said 180 firefighters were involved.

At this stage the northern part of Two Rocks including Seatrees estate was on bushfire advice.

The alert was downgraded at 5.05am on December 12 as firefighters had worked throughout the night to build containment lines.

But at 1.58pm an emergency warning was issued for people in an area bounded by Yanchep Beach Rd to the south, Splendid Park to the east, Karril Turn to the north and Two Rocks Rd to the west in the northern part of Yanchep.

As per the day before and following days during daylight hours aerial support was involved – altogether the Yanchep bushfire accounted for about 4.7 million litres of the 8.9m litres of water used to fight bushfires in WA last year.

By 3.06pm on December 12 people north of the Yanchep townsite and those in Two Rocks, Breakwater and Seatrees estates were being asked to leave immediately due to significant fire activity that could affect Breakwater Dr.

Another evacuation centre was opened at the Granville Civic Centre in Gingin.

Two Rocks went under an emergency warning at 4.55pm and by then 1680ha had been burnt in the Yanchep-Two Rocks area.

Homes in Seatrees and Breakwater estates were under threat and about 150 Parks and Wildlife Service, bush fire service, volunteer fire and rescue service, volunteer fire and emergency services, career fire and rescue service firefighters were battling the bushfire.

At 6.54pm DFES said homes in Seatrees and Breakwater estates were still under threat and that a bushfire advice had been issued for parts of Wilbinga and Woodridge in the Shire of Gingin.

Firefighters – by this stage numbering 220 – were expecting the wind to change from south westerly to south easterly at 8pm, which would mean homes in Two Rocks could be threatened by fire.

About 9pm – at which time a total of 2660ha had been burnt – DFES advised people in Two Rocks to leave then as Two Rocks Rd could be closed as fire conditions worsened.

By 4.03am on December 13 Two Rocks was under ember attack.

Western Power advised that about 310 customers had no power.

At 5.59am Breakwater and Seatrees estates were under emergency warning while Two Rocks remained under ember attack.

A total of 4400ha had been burnt by 10.10am and by 1.15pm the emergency warning area extended north to Wilbinga Rd before being extended again to include Woodbridge and Guilderton at 1.52pm.

At 2.45pm DFES was warning that it was no longer safe for people who had remained in Seatrees and Breakwater estates to leave.

By 4.58pm a total of 5000ha had been burnt and less than 10 minutes later at 5.06pm DFES said the emergency warning area has been extended to include Neergabby, Gabbadah and Seabird, and parts of Wanerie, Breton Bay, Yeal, Beermullah and Muckenburra, including Redfield and Sovereign Hill estates in the Shire of Gingin.

At 8.12pm DFES said the out of control and unpredictable bushfire was still moving in a north easterly direction at 1km/h.

About 11.09pm people in Guilderton were being told to leave in a northerly direction if the way was clear as the bush fire was approaching the area.

It was still not safe to leave for people in Seatrees and Breakwater estates.

Still out of control and unpredictable at 2.09am on December 14 the bushfire was at that stage moving in a westerly direction.

A DFES alert at 6am said a total of 11,000ha had been burnt.

By 6.58am although still out of control and unpredictable the bushfire was moving slowly in a north westerly direction.

Guilderton and Woodridge residents were advised at 11.39am to leave in an easterly direction towards Indian Ocean Dr and use Gingin Brook Rd to travel towards Gingin as the bushfire was approaching the area.

By 3.08pm DFES said it was safe to leave Seatrees and Breakwater estates in a westerly direction towards Two Rocks, and then leave south along Two Rocks Rd and Marmion Ave with Two Rocks townsite being downgraded to a watch and act.

DFES also said about 400 firefighters were fighting the bushfire (altogether firefighters saved more than 6000 homes in the areas affected by the Yanchep bushfire).

State Emergency Services volunteers were also involved.

At 3.42pm DFES said it had made restricted access permits available temporarily available for Seatrees estate, north of Breakwater Dr with a restricted access permit issuing unit established at Gumblossom Community Centre – the permits allowed residents access for 1hr (plus 40 minutes driving time).

Woodridge residents were told at 5.50pm that Water Corporation advice was they would not have access to scheme water from about 6pm.

Firefighters expected the wind to change in the early morning from southerly to south easterly, which DFES said at 10.13pm meant that homes in Guilderton could be threatened by the bushfire, which had burnt 11,800ha.

On December 15 at 3.11am DFES said the Water Corporation had advised Woodridge could be without scheme water but they were working to maintain supply.

On December 15 there were 259 homes in Two Rocks with no power and Western Power crews were continuing to work to repair damage to the network in Yanchep affecting power supply to 12 properties.

A DFES alert at 11.19pm said fire movement had eased overnight but the threat remained due to activity within the fireground and forecast weather conditions meant there was still a high risk of flare ups through the day.

They also expected the wind direction to change from north to south early in the afternoon which would test containment lines.

This meant homes in the Guilderton, Redfield Park, Sovereign Hill, Woodridge and Neergabby remained under threat.

There were also a lot of fire damaged trees alight in and around the fire ground which posed a risk to residents and firefighters.

**I will have to continue to add to this timeline during the next few days as to get this far I have re-looked at more than 110 Emergency WA emails.