Northcliffe fires: Prime Minister Tony Abbott salutes firefighters | photos

Close to 100,000 hectares of bushland and two houses were lost in the massive blaze that stretched from near Northcliffe to the coast near Windy Harbour and locals’ emotions were still raw during the Prime Minister's visit.

Mr Abbott inspected a firefighting unit after arriving in Northcliffe before he and Federal member for O’Connor Rick Wilson received a first-hand briefing on the recovery progress from Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPaW) Donnelly district manager John Gillard and other fire officials.

They then joined Northcliffe locals for afternoon tea.

Mr Abbott, who is a volunteer firefighter himself, saluted residents’ resilience and said those who went through the experience will carry those memories throughout their lives.

He was kept updated throughout the fire by Mr Wilson and Forrest MP Nola Marino and said there were lessons to learn.

“I appreciate what the community has been through and I salute the firefighters,” Mr Abbott said.

“There were no templates given the scale of this disaster but it did show how the Emergency Management Act and army efforts could be co-ordinated.”

He told locals “they were not alone but Federal, State and local governments were standing with them shoulder to shoulder in these difficult times and would work with them in coming weeks and months”.

Mr Wilson reaffirmed the commitment to stand by the community after its traumatic experience and said it was humbling to have the Prime Minister come to the region given the only other official Prime Ministerial visit was by Bill Hughes, who went to Greenbushes in 1922.

Locals had only a little time to outline a few of their concerns but via their representative Mr Wilson there is a strong push for more prescribed burning and less red tape to facilitate it.

The issue will receive more attention this week with Karen Nickels from Fire for Life Inc saying the organisation was presenting a public forum to discuss Conservation Through Prescribed Burning or Devastation Through Wild Fire at 6.30pm tonight (Thursday) at the Pemberton town hall.

Monday’s gathering was only one of many Northcliffe fire recovery meetings in the past couple of weeks as the community struggles to return to normality and locals have used them as opportunities to express concerns for Northcliffe’s lack of safe roads, three-phase power and a proper public water supply.

Others were keen for volunteer fire fighters to receive better training and have their organisations better equipped by government to fight fires.

There was also strong support to change the permit access system to make it easier for essential services and livestock owners to be allowed access to fire restricted areas during emergency shut downs.

Dairy farmers Wally and Julie Bettink were without food, telephone, power, fuel and water on their farm and did not have electricity restored for two weeks but had to continue to milking their cows.

They along with many others in similar situations had to find alternative and often more dangerous routes to gain entry into restricted zones to access their farms and bring in essentials for livestock.

First it was truckloads of hay that were rolling into Northcliffe, now the relief effort is focusing on replacing destroyed fencing.

Farmers and other local landholders who lost fences in the fire are being urged to register with Newcastle, New South Wales, resident Brian Carr who is co-ordinating the WA Blaze Aid effort.

Mr Carr has set up camp at Northcliffe’s recreation centre and is expecting Blaze Aid volunteers, including many grey nomads, to start arriving in the town soon and they are willing to help locals out over the next three to four months.

Already Southern Wire has pledged discounted wire and Manjimup farmer Mal Phillips has donated 5000 ex-trellis steel posts towards replacing more than 100 kilometres of burnt boundary fences and considerably more internal fences.

Mr Carr emphasised assistance was available to everyone who had lost fences, not only farmers, and all they needed to do was register.