Bushfire watch and act for Dingo’s Lair and Turner River

A bushfire watch and act is currently in place for people travelling on Great Northern Highway and North West Coastal Highway, as well as people in the Dingo’s Lair settlement and south of Turner River in the Town of Port Hedland.

DFES regional duty coordinator for the Pilbara Paul Leiper said he expects the fire to continue to burn south west of Dingoes Lair, between the settlement and the highway.

“It will only burn as far as the Holcim quarry due to existing fire scars beyond that,” he said.

“On the west side of the highway, we’re working with the land manager to put some breaks in there and to do some control management on the fire on that side as well.”

Mr Leiper said the people in Dingo’s Lair and travellers on the highway need to remain “very aware” of the situation and keep updated through the Emergency WA and Main Roads websites.

“We want to give a shout out to our local transport drivers and truckies, they have been exceptionally patient, accommodating and supportive with our crews on the highway,” he said.

“They’ve provided assistance to our guys on the ground and helped manage traffic on their two ways.”

The fire started due to lightning in the area several days ago and Mr Leiper said that although conditions during the day have been mild, build up of thunderstorms during the afternoon have been cause for concern.

“Yesterday we got some thunderstorms over the incident area and very localised strong winds were are not following the prevailing conditions,” he said.

“These conditions increased the rate and spread of the fire to a point where it unfortunately jumped the highway last night,

“We’ll certainly be keeping an eye on any build up again this afternoon because this is where conditions can sometimes change.”

To keep up to date, visit the Emergency WA website.