How fire stricken Yarloop has recovered and rebuilt after ‘hell on earth’

January 5 has marked the third year since the deadly out of control bushfire, that almost wiped small town of Yarloop off the map, ignited.

In total, 181 homes were destroyed, two men were killed and historical assets were in ashes. 

They were all burnt to a crisp within minutes. 

Investigators can’t pinpoint the moment two fires were started by lightning sometime after dark just west of Murray Road in Lane Poole Reserve.

In total, the burnt through almost 70,000 hectares, an area almost as big as New York City, and left a damage bill of about $155 million.

From Dwellingup in the east, the fire burnt through to Preston Beach in the west.

While the blaze brought the town to a standstill, Yarloop’s wheels are now in motion, with no end in sight. 

Since the incident, the train station has received several upgrades worth more than $500,000, residential areas have been rebuilt and populated, plans are in place to create a multi-purpose community centre and the fire bridge’s shed has been reconstructed.

Shire of Harvey president Tania Jackson said the heart of Yarloop was destroyed during the fires, including the community’s recently refurbished icon old town hall. 

“It was pretty harrowing. The heart burnt out but we’ve had enough survive,” she told the Mandurah Mail. 

“We had about 90 homes survive in Yarloop itself, so we still had a substantial town.

“This year we’re able to talk a little bit more about the fire but it’s still very difficult for some people. 

“We’re still very mindful of that with everything we do in the community. 

“This was just once in a lifetime event – I would hope – that people will never have to live through again.” 

Luckily, the local primary school and community bowling club survived. 

The sporting hub has since become the main meeting place for larger community functions, according to Ms Jackson.

Following the loss of the old hall, Shire of Harvey councillors made a vow to work towards bringing the town a multi-purpose community centre. 

The centre is only in its early stages, with the foundation laid and the building’s framework up. 

The new building will include a function hall, offices for the Yarloop Community Resource Centre, rooms for visiting allied health practitioners and community laundry. 

What remains of the old town hall will form part of the new community centre.

“We think it will be the hub that the town will require in a modest rebuild of a small country town,” Ms Jackson said. 

The project is tipped to be finished in mid-2019. 

“It’s about a 12-month timeline. It's well on the road to foresee the shape of the building. The expectation in the community is building along with that, which is great,” Ms Jackson said. 

“In the early stages, with the loss of the infrastructure in town, we worked with the community about a town development plan. 

“We had a workshop and asked people to prioritise what was needed.” 

The top responses from that consultation were to rebuild the fire shed and create a community centre.

“Alongside that was rebuilding the pub, which we probably don’t have the ability to do but you can understand why people wanted that,” Ms Jackson said. 

The town’s long-term recovery will also see the creation of a memorial garden and extensive landscaping efforts around the central area. 

“We have pretty strong central areas to rebuild so that those people rebuilding their homes feel like they have that small rural community to bring up families or to retire in,” Ms Jackson said.

“We’ve seen some changes in the town. 

“We’ve already seen new people come to town having known the history and seeing the opportunity in pretty affordable housing.”

Like the old hall the town’s main historical attraction, The Workshops, was lost on that fateful day. 

The Workshops provided visitors to the town with a look at the former timber industry, which had been the backbone of the local economy in decades past. 

The centre provided attendees with a first-hand look and what working in the industry would have been like with informational displays and resources on offer. 

“The central area and the workshops was a huge loss but we absolutely intend to rebuild those,” Ms Jackson said. 

“That will perhaps be an economic driver for the town.  

“We do see people driving through. A lot of people still come through to have a look. 

“Yarloop might have been something a lot of people knew about because of its history with timber, the mill and the rail over the years.

"A lot might have also heard of and wanted to come to see [Yarloop] since those events of the fire." 

The shire’s elected representatives in the shire have already approved the creation of concept designs for The Workshop’s rebuild, which are expected to be completed this year.

The centre wasn’t the only tourism assets to be lost in the blaze.

Mandurah and Peel Tourism Organisation’s acting chief executive officer Anita Kane said several businesses were impacted by the fires but had remained resilient and restructured after the tragedy. 

The Waroona Caravan Park wiped out, several wineries affected and what was going to be the state's first dry skiing park at Forrest Edge brought to an end. 

Owners of the Waroona Caravan Park had only purchased the property about two weeks prior to the fires. 

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The Skipworth Wine Company, located along Hoffman Road, was hit hard when it lost a number of vines in and infrastructure. 

The vineyard’s owner Kim Skipworth bounced back from the event, claiming various awards for his wines at major shows in the past year. 

Mr Skipworth even released a 2015 drop, Shiraz called “Rising Phoenix” that was a vintage preserved from the 2016 bushfires.

On the top shelf of one of the man wine cabinets in his cellar door, sits a photo from the day. 

Mr Skipworth said people would be excused for thinking the landscape was from another plant but said “hell on earth” was the best way he could describe it. 

During the fires, he stayed back to protect his property armed with nothing but a quad bike and an 80-litre water tank.

While Mr Skipworth was pleased his home, workshop and machinery were intact, his vines, fences, irrigation and even a dam were destroyed. 

At one point when he found himself stuck trying to reverse his motorbike, Mr Skipworth said the blaze almost got him.

“It went through like a washing machine. It was so fast. It was a horror story inferno,” he said. 

Within days of the fire galloping through his property, Mr Skipworth said he sat down, wrote a list of things to do and got to work.

Within a couple of months, he was back in business. 

While fighting off the fire, Mr Skipworth also found a lost local man, aged in his 60s called John, on his property. 

The man became disorientated after attempting to flee and had been considered missing by authorities. 

Mr Skipworth said when all cleared over he took John back to his home, which was closer to town. 

When they arrived at the address it was too late, John’s home was gone. 

Mr Skipworth said it was just one of many traumatic stories from the fire event.

“The lesson I had to learn through all of this is that you can’t rely on the authorities, you’ve only got yourself,” he said. 

“You’ve just got to defend yourself. You’ve got to rely on your own abilities and equipment.” 

Since 2003, Mr Skipworth has been owned his property, which contains about 40 hectares of vines.

It took more than a year to rebuild the fire brigade’s shed in Yarloop. 

Ms Jackson said it was the community’s top concern, according to consultation sort shortly after the fire event.

The reconstruction of the shed brought back security and confidence to residents, along with removing various inconveniences for brigade members. 

The facility boasts four new vehicle bays, plus office space with a function room, designed for meetings and training sessions. 

Following the destruction, the state government announced it would undertake several upgrades to the Yarloop Train Station. 

Upgrades to the outdated station included raising the platform, improving the access road and car park, installing ACROD bays for passengers with disabilities, creating a sheltered area and upgrading pedestrian crossings nearby. 

An old loading ramp, opposite the station, was retained for its heritage value and has been fenced as part of the project.

According to the state government, the station is more accessible and will provide for faster boardings for the Australind train service.

Train Station upgrades were complete in August 2018. 

At the time, WA premier Mark McGowan said upgrade was part of his government’s commitment to revitalise the Australind train service.

"The completion of this upgraded station is an important step to help the community towards a full recovery, following the devastating fire of 2016,” he said. 

“The upgraded station is more accessible and will help attract visitors to the South-West providing a means of travel between Perth and Bunbury."

Murray-Wellington MP Robyn Clarke said it was all about ensuring residents were connected. 

"It's essential we make travel to the South-West region a simpler commute for locals and travellers the like,” she said. 

As recently as December last year, extra safety measures have been taken in Yarloop including the installment of a St John Ambulance community defibrillator. 

The defibrillators have been installed throughout WA and form part of the St John Ambulance Community First Responder program.

The device is available around the clock, with users required to call 000 to get the code for the cabinet.

In the region so far, defibrillators have been installed at the Yarloop Bowling Club on December 4, Waroona’s Western Power site on October 10, the Waroona Golf Club in August 2017 and the Waroona Community Resource Centre In August 2014.

Interested in hearing more?

The Shire of Harvey have produced book titled ‘Stories from the Fireground’.

The book tells the tales of many impacted Yarloop residents and has received an award at the EMPA Emergency Communication Awards, which were announced in June 2018.

Visit the shire’s website to read more about it and find out how to purchase a copy. 

Follow Caitlyn Rintoul on Twitter via @caitlynrintoul or get in touch with her via caitlyn.rintoul@mandurahmail.com.au.