Why the West Coast’s worst blazes are the most common in the country
The best way to save your house is to get out, and if you’re lucky, to stay put.
Photo: Chris Pearce More News Read More As wildfires raged across Western Australia in September, some residents have opted for the safest way of saving: leaving the house and heading to the nearest bushfire hotspot.
“It’s a really good strategy if you can, it’s a big evacuation plan,” said John Cunliffe, who is in his 40s and lives in the northern part of the state.
“I’m not the kind of person who goes out to look for fire.”
The fires in September caused widespread damage to properties in the state, including the homes of more than 100 people who died.
Since then, the state has been hit by a series of blazes, including a large fire in the north-west, a wildfire in the south-west and a blaze in the mid-west.
There are more than 10 blazes in the region, and more than 80,000 people have been evacuated from their homes, including people who had nowhere to go after the fires.
“The worst that’s happened was about an hour ago, we’ve had about a half-hour of rain,” he said.
“There are a lot of areas where there are very big fires.”
In addition to the blazes and bushfires, there are also reports of more severe weather conditions.
Mr Cunmiffe said he did not expect a similar level of bushfire activity for the Christmas period.
He said people should not worry about leaving the home at this time of year.
“If you’re not getting any rain, you’re probably not going to get any heat, you can still get a lot cooler,” he told the ABC.
“You don’t have to worry about being outside, you just need to make sure you have good protection.”
Topics:fire,wildfire,fires,environment,weather,australiaMore stories from Western Australia