The 2023 Wanneroo bushfire began on 22 November 2023 in Mariginiup in the City of Wanneroo,

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. The fire forced evacuations of residents and eighteen houses were destroyed. The fire destroyed over of land, including farmland and houses in localities in the City of Wanneroo and the adjoining

City of Swan The City of Swan is a Local government areas of Western Australia, local government area of Western Australia, in the Eastern Metropolitan Regional Council, eastern metropolitan region of Perth. It is named after the Swan River (Western Austral ...

. The

Department of Fire and Emergency Services The Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) is a government department that is responsible for fire and emergency services in Western Australia. The department came into being in 2012 as a result of the Perth Hills Bush Fire review. DFE ...

(DFES). The cause of the ignition of this fire is unknown. The presence of fire weather was an important factor in the ignition and propagation of this fire. On 29 December, the DFES announced tits finding that the fire was ignited by ground fire.

Background

The City of Wanneroo is a peri-urban city in the

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

greater metropolitan area. Wanneroo lies 28 km north of the Perth

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...

. It comprises some 36 suburbs. On census day 2021, the population of Wanneroo was 209,111 living in 78,029 dwellings. Wanneroo lies within a fire prone area. The landscape includes vegetation with a high fuel load such as the

Jarrah Forest Jarrah Forest, also known as the Southwest Australia woodlands, is an interim Australian bioregion and ecoregion located in the south west of Western Australia.

with its undergrowth, parks and reserves. Wanneroo is also prone to fire weather (hot, dry, windy days) with a bushfire season between October to April. The suburbs of Wanneroo severely affected by the Wanneroo fire of 2023 included Banksia Grove, Mariginiup, Wanneroo, and

Tapping Tapping is a playing technique that can be used on any stringed instrument, but which is most commonly used on guitar. The technique involves a string being fretted and set into vibration as part of a single motion. This is in contrast to stand ...

. Other affected suburbs included Ashby, Carramar, Jandabup,

Melaleuca ''Melaleuca'' () is a genus of nearly 300 species of plants in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, commonly known as paperbarks, honey-myrtles, bottlebrushes or tea-trees (although the last name is also applied to species of '' Leptospermum''). They ...

, Sinagra and Wangara.

Timeline

22 November

Photo of smoke from Wanneroo 2023 Bushfire on 22 sep 2023 01

The fire began in the suburb of Mariginiup at around 1:00 p.m. On that day, a maximum temperature close to 40 °C and wind gusts of up to 41 km/h created fire weather. The fire moved quickly in a westerly direction. Over 120

firefighters A firefighter (or fire fighter or fireman) is a first responder trained in specific emergency response such as firefighting, primarily to control and extinguish fires and respond to emergencies such as hazardous material incidents, medical in ...

were dispatched to the fire and bushfire emergency warnings were broadcast. Some residents were advised to shelter in place as it was no longer safe to leave. An evacuation center for displaced residents was established at the Wanneroo Recreation Centre. At 10 pm, the fire was still moving rapidly.

23 November

Overnight, the fire continued uncontrolled. Police and firefighters placed traffic restrictions at critical road intersections.

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cancelled all deliveries to the areas affected by the bushfire. During the morning, the fire intensified. High temperatures to 40°C and wind gusts of up to 65 km/h continued. In Tapping, multiple sheds were destroyed. At 2.30 p.m., further evacuations were ordered.

Wanneroo Secondary College Wanneroo Secondary College is an Independent Public secondary school in Wanneroo, a suburb north of Perth, Western Australia. Overview The school was established as Wanneroo High School in 1977, starting out with 180 Year 8 students. At the t ...

was closed. By 10 p.m. the fire area was over 1700 acres (680 hectares) and houses had been destroyed. Fire fighting efforts were predicted to continue for days.

24 November

By the morning of 24 November, DFES had partial control of the fire. However, the fire remained active throughout the day. In the afternoon at 3 p.m., Roger Cook, premier of Western Australia, announced a total of 18 homes had been lost to the fire. Fire weather was predicted to continue for two days.

25 November

In the afternoon, Cook reported that no further houses had been lost. The DFES had the fire contained but structures remained under threat. The

Bureau of Meteorology The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM or BoM) is an executive agency of the Government of Australia, Australian Government that is responsible for providing Weather forecasting, weather forecasts and Meteorology, meteorological services to Australia a ...

(BOM) predicted ongoing fire weather with strong gusts until mid-morning the following day. Stephen Dawson, Western Australia's emergency services minister, said that residents whose home were severely damaged or destroyed were eligible to receive $4,000 and those who were affected otherwise to $2,000 of government funding.

26 November

At 9:00 am, DFES advised 18 homes have been lost and another 30 were damaged. The fire was contained but Watch and Act warnings (advice to residents) remained in place in Jandabup,

, Wanneroo and Mariginiup. Residents were advised, for their safety, not to return to their properties in fire affected areas. Electricity was yet to be restored to some areas. At 3:40 pm, the DFES confirmed that the Wanneroo bushfire had been contained and controlled. Watch and Act warnings were down-graded to a Bushfire Advice level. Clint Kuchel, the DFES spokesman said the fire area was unchenged but no further homes had been lost. 130 firefighters continued to fight the fire. Some roads had been opened when safe to do so. 150 homes remained without power.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wanneroo bushfire, 2023 2023 wildfires 2023 fires in Oceania 2023 disasters in Australia 2020s in Perth, Western Australia November 2023 in Australia Bushfires in Western Australia

Bushfire A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a ...