On 5 February 2022, the Shackleton and Narrogin East fires burnt through over 65,000 hectares and 90 properties across the Shires of Bruce Rock, Corrigin, Quairading, Narrogin, Cuballing and Wickepin.
Fuelled by catastrophic weather conditions and dense stubble remaining from last year’s bumper harvest, the fires caused significant damage to infrastructure, soils, pastures and livestock. Recognising the scale and impact of the fires, the State Government appointed the Wheatbelt Development Commission’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr Rob Cossart, as the District Recovery Coordinator to assist local governments in their recovery efforts.
As part of this support, a District Recovery Coordination Group (DRCG) was established to work through the response issues and support cross government coordination. Working closely with the Department of Fire and Emergency Services, DPIRD, Local Government Authorities and grower groups, Rob chaired the DRCG Wheatbelt bushfire recovery to ensure appropriate support was delivered to affected communities.
The DRCG identified and focused on five focus areas to support the regional recovery: mental health support, infrastructure and farm impacts, natural resource impacts, supporting community resilience and future preparedness. A suite of initiatives were implemented through partnerships with the private, public and not-for-profit sectors.
The Wheatbelt Development Commission, together with DPIRD, provided $100,000 in funding to the Corrigin Farm Improvement Group and the Facey Group to support on-farm recovery efforts. Not-for profit organisations played a crucial role in onfarm and community recovery efforts. National volunteer organisation, BlazeAid, erected 280km of fencing across 39 fire-affected properties over 1,565 volunteer hours.