Bridgetown-Greenbushes Shire president John Bookless thanks vollies and fireys who helped during bushfire

In the aftermath of a devastating bushfire which threatened to destroy parts of Bridgetown, Shire president John Bookless has offered his deepest thanks to the volunteers who fought to save the town from destruction. Two weeks ago, a 2400ha bushfire broke out in the land north of Bridgetown after a tree had collapsed onto powerlines. The blaze quickly picked up pace and ferocity, aided by the 40C day and strong south-westerly wind which pushed it towards the townsite. An evacuation of Bridgetown was quickly ordered as hundreds of residents fled to Nannup and Manjimup for shelter on Saturday afternoon. Volunteer firefighters from all over the South West including Boyup Brook, Dunsborough, Manjimup and Margaret River quickly sprung into action to help fight the blaze. At their full strength, there were 250 volunteer firefighters and four aerial bombers fighting well into the night to stop the bushfire from decimating Bridgetown. Although the bushfire destroyed two properties, seriously injured one man and caused a hazardous material outbreak in Hester, by Sunday afternoon the Department of Fire and Emergency Services had reported the fire was contained and controlled thanks to the hard work of both the professional and volunteer fire fighters. Bridgetown-Greenbushes Shire president John Bookless said there “were no words” to be able to express the gratitude he felt towards those who had prevented the situation from spiralling out of control during the blaze. “Words are not enough, there are not enough thank-yous,” he said. “They go above and beyond the call of duty to fight the fire, these times bring out the best of our communities.” Cr Bookless said he was at home on Saturday afternoon when he began to see a massive smoke plume appear in the distance to the north of Bridgetown. He said in just over a hour he had a deep feeling of uneasiness and after helping his wife and daughters evacuate to Manjimup he returned to the command centre in Bridgetown around 4pm to find most of the land to the east of township “pretty much surrounded by fire.” Cr Bookless said he knew it would be a long fight to get the blaze under control and was amazed the men and women who were battling the fire saved as many properties as they did. Cr Bookless said what made the volunteers so special, especially the local brigades, was they would often leave their own properties vulnerable while they battled the fire elsewhere. “One of the incredibly brave things firefighters do is they leave their own properties to go and help others fight the blaze at someone’s property,” he said. The Shire president wanted to thank the chief executive Tim Clynch for work during and after the bushfire with coordinating support programs for residents affected, liaising with DFES, Water Corp and Western Power and organising damage recovery meetings within the Shire. Cr Bookless said he also wanted to thank the outlying communities who helped during the evacuation of Bridgetown by housing and feeding residents who had left on Saturday afternoon.