Emergency level bushfires in the southern half of WA are stretching services to capacity, but affected residents have been left unable to access critical information about the fires thanks to a website and app failure.<\/p>\n
About 250 firefighters are responding to two separate emergency fires in the Midwest, near Warradarge and Mogumber.<\/p>\n
Loading…<\/p>\n
On Monday evening DFES issued another emergency warning for a blaze burning in Boonanarring and Cullalla in the shires of Chittering and Gingin, with an evacuation centre set up at the Gingin Sports Centre.\u00a0<\/p>\n
An emergency warning was issued for part of Chittering and Bindoon, less than 70 kilometres north of Perth, but that was downgraded to a watch and act just before 7pm.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Residents in Nambeelup, about 16 kilometres east of Mandurah, had been urged to leave on Monday afternoon and there was an evacuation centre at the Murray Aquatic and Leisure Centre.<\/p>\n
The warning level for that blaze was downgraded to a watch and act alert at 4:20pm.<\/p>\n
At 8pm there were a total of nine blazes at the watch and act level with residents being warned to prepare to leave or monitor conditions.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Website, app down<\/p>\n
But at a time when five separate fires were burning at emergency level, the Emergency WA website crashed and was not able to show current bushfire or other warnings.<\/p>\n
No details were available on outages and closures, incidents, natural hazards or prescribed burns for more than two hours.<\/p>\n
The website appears to have since been restored.<\/p>\n
In a statement DFES said the technical difficulties were caused by a data processing problem.<\/p>\n
“DFES has asked the software provider to take immediate action to mitigate against recurrence,” the statement read.<\/p>\n
“There was no impact to push notifications being issued and received on the Emergency WA app.”<\/p>\n
The agency encouraged people to listen to local ABC radio to keep up to date or to call 13 33 37.<\/p>\n
Gingin shire president Linda Balcombe said being disconnected from Emergency WA’s real-time updates, as the region deals with multiple, dynamic fires was unsettling.\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Linda Balcombe says the website outage made things difficult for residents.\u00a0 (ABC Midwest & Wheatbelt: Piper Duffy)<\/p>\n
“Once you lose any communication at all, it just scares people,” she said.<\/p>\n
“They’re not sure what way the fire is going, because all of those maps give you a bit of a direction.”<\/p>\n
Cr Balcombe said with warning and road closures constantly changing, delayed information could stop people being able to evacuate safety.<\/p>\n
“If that system’s down for half an hour or more, that could really be the difference between whether they’re going to have to bunker down through the fire or get out.”<\/p>\n
Lightning blamed<\/p>\n
Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) Assistant Commissioner Paul Carr confirmed the Nambeelup and Chittering blazes were likely sparked by lightning.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Eneabba was evacuated on Sunday when a blaze sparked by lightning was threatening lives and homes. \u00a0 (Supplied: Jackson Whooley)<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the fire in Warradarge has razed at least 7,000 hectares of scrub and farmland since early Sunday morning.<\/p>\n
Parts of Brand Highway have been closed, with flames burning on either side of the road.<\/p>\n
Earlier, an emergency warning in place for Brigadoon and Gidgegannup, about 40 kilometres north east of Perth, was downgraded around 3:30pm.<\/p>\n
Firefighters are continuing to strengthen containment lines, as the fire is stationary, however, uncontained and uncontrolled.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Brigadoon fire seen from the air.\u00a0 (ABC News)<\/p>\n
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe thunderstorm warning for parts of the Central West, Central Wheatbelt and Great Southern Districts.<\/p>\n
Senior meteorologist Jess Lingard told ABC Radio Perth thunderstorms were producing damaging wind gusts in the area, including potentially Dalwallinu, Dowerin, Wongan Hills, Beacon, Cunderdin and Kellerberin.<\/p>\n
But she added there was “good news” because the west coast trough that is driving the current hot fire conditions will shift towards the east overnight and should produce milder conditions tomorrow.<\/p>\n
Storms since Saturday night have caused widespread power outages, peaking at at 115,000 properties in the Perth metropolitan, the Midwest and the Wheatbelt regions.<\/p>\n