Original source (on modern site)
Authorities believe a bushfire, that reached emergency level in Western Australia's north, may have been the fourth deliberately lit blaze in as many days. The fire near the Pilbara town of South Hedland, 1,600 kilometres north of Perth, was reported on Saturday morning and threatened nearby properties throughout the day. Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) Pilbara Acting Superintendent Shannon Brophy said no damage had been reported but the fire would be investigated by police. "The cause is unknown, it's definitely suspicious," he said. Mr Brophy said Saturday's blaze was the fourth fire in the same area near the mining town in four days. "The guys are consistently going out there, they're doing a great job to mitigate as best they possibly can but it's challenging when this does occur," Mr Brophy said. "If people do spot people in the area and they do look a little bit suspicious, do report them to Crime Stoppers." DFES gave the all-clear on Sunday after the fire burned through 440 hectares of land in parts of Boodarie, Pippingarra and South Hedland. Multiple roads were closed at the height of the emergency, but they have all since reopened. Many residents took to social media to post videos of the fire. Mr Brophy said the area had generally been burned out, and he expected black smoke to be blowing in the area in the coming days. He said small fires may restart in the burned area, but said local crews were prepared and felt they were unlikely to escalate. "The crews were out there this morning to have a look and put out any spot fires," he said. "There's always the potential of one or two here and there but they're pretty comfortable with where it's at and don't expect any more significant ignitions." Mr Brophy said emergency crews responded quickly, and local mining companies offered resources to support the response efforts. "The crews that arrived did a brilliant job in sending out the emergency alerts very early," he said. "Fortunately for us no one needed to be evacuated."