Detectives suspect arsonists behind ‘deliberately lit’ Geraldton bushfires in Wonthella, Karloo and Woorree

Detectives suspect arsonists are behind a recent spate of bushfires in Geraldton this week — including two that turned into emergencies, threatening lives and homes. Detective Senior Sgt Bruce McDonald said police were investigating the cause of three bushfires across Geraldton suburbs, which destroyed more than 10 hectares of bushland, and believe they were “deliberately lit”. “So far investigations have failed to show any possible cause for the fires to start by themselves,” he said. “Two of these have grown into major bushfires and threatened lives, homes and businesses. We got lucky this time. No one was hurt.” He said two fires occurred on Sunday evening within 15 minutes of each other on Galilee Wayin Woorree and Abraham Street in Karloo. The Karloo blaze grew to come within metres of homes. The third, on Tuesday evening, escalated quickly to reach an emergency level on Eighth Street in Wonthella. Residents around these fires have praised actions by emergency services dealing with dangerous conditions to prevent loss of life. Wonthella resident Ella Conder said the efforts by police and firefighters was “out of this world… they are all heroes” after she was evacuated from her home amid the “f...... hectic” fire. Karloo father of two Jamie Greenham was forced to make the decision to evacuate his family as the fire came within meters of his home in Karloo. “It was scary,” he said. “The wind was howling, and embers were flying everywhere.” Det Snr Sgt McDonald said there were no structures such as power poles or extreme weather events around the time, like lightning strikes, which could explain the cause of the blazes. He praised efforts by residents affected by the Wonthella fire who contacted police with video footage and images of three children seen leaving the bushland shortly after the fire started. “We were able to identify and speak with the three juveniles and determined they played no role in the fire,” he said. Det Snr Sgt McDonald urged people to report any suspicious behaviour to police and to review dash-cam footage that could help identify a suspected arsonist. Department of Fire and Emergency Services Mid West Gascoyne region Superintendent Craig Smith said these incidents “serves to remind us how quickly fire can escalate”. “It can be life and death for people in these areas which shows how necessary it is to have a fire plan in place,” he said. “But we were lucky and our firefighters did an amazing job.” Although the cause of the fires was under investigation he said there was no evidence to suspect any “untoward” behaviour. “We’ve got a great city here, but the reality is over the summer months the fire risk is severe. We’ll get through it like we have in past years,” he said.