The 2015 Esperance bushfires were a series of catastrophic bushfires that burned from 15 to 26 November and affected the Goldfields-Esperance region in the Australian state of Western Australia. During the fires, the Shire of Esperance experienced two significant fires and a complex of fires; were burnt by the Cascades fire, were burnt by the Merivale fire, and were burnt by the Cape Arid complex of fires. On 17 November, during the major run of the Cascades fire, four civilian fatalities occurred in vehicles traveling on Griggs Road in Scaddan. , the Cascades fire was equally the worst bushfire in Western Australia in terms of human fatalities along with the Willow Springs/Nannup fire of January 1958.
The Cascades fire destroyed Scaddan town hall, one house, 16 non-residential structures and dozens of vehicles in the communities of Grass Patch, Salmon Gums and Scaddan. There was also significant damage to rural produce; approximately 4,500 head of livestock died and of crop—constituting about 500,000 tonnes of grain—were burnt. In addition, the Merivale fire destroyed two houses in Stockyard Creek, and the Cape Arid complex destroyed significant areas of western ground parrot habitat—reportedly up to 90%—prompting discussion that the critically endangered parrot could "... become the first bird in at least 200 years to become extinct in Western Australia".
Background
Agriculture is the predominant land use by area in the Shire of Esperance; between 1990 and 2000 the region witnessed an increase of 50% in the total cropped area and a decrease in the total area dedicated to livestock farming, the main crops produced are wheat, barley and canola. Cropped areas are particularly combustible prior to harvest, and stubble is retained post harvest to reduce soil erosion, which maintains a combustible ground cover and increases fuel load in pre-harvest fields.
The Esperance region had above average winter rainfall in 2015, promoting the growth of large quantities of crops and other plant material. Salmon Gums Research Station, north of Esperance town, reported its highest winter rainfall in 88 years; fell in August, the highest August total rainfall for at least 30 years. Prior to the 2015 harvest, yields of up to 5 tonnes per hectare were reported in the Esperance district, which was estimated to be around 50% harvested at the time of the fires. This represented a 2015 harvest that was far above the 5 year average, even accounting for the "... hundreds of thousands of tonnes" of grain lost during the fire.
The winter rains were followed by an unusually dry and warm spring, which rapidly dried out the unharvested crops and other plant material. Statewide average temperatures in Western Australia during October were +3.28 °C above average and the highest on record, and rainfall was generally light across the Esperance region at . Temperature observations were similarly elevated in November, at +1.78 °C above average and the second warmest on record.
Predictions for the 2015–16 bushfire season
A strengthening El Niño–Southern Oscillation event across the Pacific Ocean and the warmer waters associated with the Indian Ocean Dipole, was expected to increase the severity and duration of the 2015–16 fire season in Western Australia, with the Goldfields-Esperance region in particular to experience "above normal fire potential" due to high fuel loads.
Fire timeline
14–16 November
Over the weekend of 14–15 November, a trough system consisting of numerous thunderstorms moved in an easterly direction over southern Western Australia and lightning ignited fires across a large area. At least 40 fires were recorded by the Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) on 15 November, including the Cascades fire, the Merivale fire, and the Cape Arid complex, which constituted three of the ten incidents recorded by the DFES in the Shire of Esperance.
The Cascades fire ignited north of Pyramid Rd. and west of Ned's Corner Rd. on unallocated crown land south of Lake Mends in the North Cascades area. Lightning from the same storm system also ignited the Merivale fire in the vicinity of Doombup Lake and Mullet Lake, east of Esperance town, and the Cape Arid complex of fires in the Gypsum Mine, Mount Ragged, and Thomas River areas of the northern part of Cape Arid National Park.
The fires remained uncontained by dawn on 16 November and a bushfire advice message for North Cascade was issued by the DFES at 11:30 AWST (UTC+08:00), although there was no threat to lives or homes at the time. Winds in the Cascades fire ground on 16 November were light to fresh breezes to from the south-south-east and relative humidity ranged from approximately 25–55%; conditions favourable to containment. However, by the end of the day on 16 November, both the Cascades and Merivale fire remained uncontained and residents of 7 properties near the Merivale fire were advised to leave.
At a briefing by the Bureau of Meteorology to the DFES on 16 November, a McArthur Forest Fire Danger Index (FFDI) rating of 250–260 was reportedly forecast for 17 November; described as "... worse than the day of the Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria that claimed 173 lives and injured some 5000 people". Despite fears for the escalation of the fire in the forecast conditions, which greatly exceeded the threshold for "catastrophic" (an FFDI of 100), all three fires remained at the classification of "Level 1" and therefore under the control of local brigades. Following the fires, Deputy Commissioner of the DFES, Lloyd Bailey, stated that on 16 November;
17 November
The passage of a low pressure system over the south-west of the state created winds of moderate gale to storm force from the north to west over the Shire of Esperance and all three fire zones, elevating the temperature to over across most of the shire. An extremely low relative humidity of 6% was observed at the Salmon Gums Research Station at 15:00 AWST, and a "storm force" wind gust of from the west-north-west was recorded at 15:37 AWST. Winds were consistently during the afternoon, with frequent gusts up to .
As anticipated, the Esperance region experienced catastrophic fire weather conditions on the afternoon of 17 November; McArthur Grassland Fire Danger Index (FFDI) recordings of 175 and 180—significantly above the threshold of 100 for "catastrophic" conditions—were recorded at Scaddan and Cascades respectively. FFDI ratings of up to 221 were reportedly observed elsewhere around Esperance. This resulted in an escalation of all three fires, including the major run of the Cascades fire.
As early as 06:30 AWST, farmers made calls to fire authorities with concerns about the height of flames in inaccessible areas close to properties in and around Cascades, as the fire front expanded to at least . During the morning, the Cascades and Merivale fires caused power outages in Esperance shire that affected at least 300 customers and also stopped mobile phone coverage. Just prior to midday the Cascades fire jumped across fuel modification breaks—consisting of substantial pre-existing scrub rolling and other fuel treatment—on the interface of crown land and private property. The fire moved rapidly once it had entered private property; during its major south–east run on the afternoon of 17 November, the Cascades fire is estimated to have spread at a rate of , fueled by the heavy harvest fuel loads, and to have traveled approximately over a five-hour period. The Cascades fire is estimated to have reached a peak intensity of around 45,000kW/h, described in the Major Incident Report as;
At 13:10 AWST the DFES warning for the Cascades fire was upgraded to "watch and act", and the warning was reported by the Experance Express within the hour, however an "emergency warning" was not issued for the fire until 17:50 AWST, some two hours after the fire impacted Griggs Rd., from the point of ignition. All four civilians fatalities from the Cascades fire occurred at approximately 15:50 AWST, when the fire front impacted Griggs Rd. between Cascade and Scaddan.
The Cascades fire crossed the Coolgardie–Esperance Highway at approximately 17:50 AWST and impacted the community of Scaddan, where the majority of structural damage occurred. The DFES superintendent for Goldfields-Esperance, Trevor Tasker, witnessed the fire front impacting the highway and created a road block, preventing an estimated 100 cars—containing approximately 200 tourists and locals—from driving into the flames; police in Norseman prevented traffic entering the area impacted by fire from the opposite direction. Scaddan farmer Chris Reichstein used a speed tiller to cut a firebreak several meters wide through burning crops and stubble along the eastern edge of the fire front, preventing the fire front from crossing into bushland where it "... could have burned for weeks".
Ninety minutes after the fire front had traversed the highway and impacted Scaddan township, the fire was upgraded to "Level 3", a designation that effectively grants the DFES command and control of the incident. By mid–evening, between 100 and 150 people from Scaddan and Grass Patch had evacuated to Salmon Gums Recreation Centre, and at approximately 22:00 AWST the area under threat was expanded to include Red Lake and Salmon Gums.
On 17 November, the Merivale fire also moved rapidly in a south–east direction, and DFES warnings were upgraded to "watch and act" level at 11:55 AWST. Fire conditions peaked during the afternoon, with the Esperance station recording an astonishingly low relative humidity of 2% at 15:00 AWST and a wind gust of from the west-north-west at 16:12 AWST. A wind change shifted the direction of fire spread to north–east at approximately 18:00 AWST, and an "emergency" warning was issued at 21:04 AWST, after the fire had crossed Cape Le Grand Rd. Two houses were destroyed in the Stockyard Creek area during the night. The ability of crews to control the Merivale fire was hampered by the vegetation and the varying terrain in the area, which included swamps, lakes and dune systems as well as several blue gum plantations.
18–26 November
Winds in the Cascades fire ground on 18 November again returned to gentle to moderate breezes from the north to west and relative humidity ranged from approximately 30–40%. Although no rainfall was recorded until 24 November, the low winds and temperatures of meant that the Cascades fire was largely stationary and the Merivale fire was spreading slowly, yet erratically. Four single-engine air tankers were deployed to control the Merivale fire.
At approximately midday on 19 November, the warning for the Cascade fire was once again upgraded to emergency level for the areas west of the Coolgadie-Esperance Highway in the communities of Grass Patch and Salmon Gums. The warning was downgraded to "watch and act" at approximately 15:00 AWST with no further injury or serious damage to property, although the perimeter of the fire had expanded to . By 20 November 300 people had evacuated from the communities impacted by the Cascades fire. Residential areas were again threatened by the Merivale fire on 21–22 November, when it broke containment lines under the influence of a wind change.
An "all clear" message was issued for both the Cascades and Merivale fires on the afternoon of 25 November, indicating that the series of fires were essentially extinguished. The Esperance District complex of fires was downgraded to "Level 1" and the DFES transitioned control for the recovery effort of the Cascades and Merivale fires to Local Government, and the recovery effort for the Cape Arid complex of fires was transferred to the Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPAW) on 26 November.
Aftermath
Fatalities The four civilians who died in the Cascades fire were identified on 19 November.
Julia Kohrs-Lichte, 19, of Germany — Kohrs-Lichte was working at Karranga Station.