Fire-ravaged WA town will 'stick together'

A Yarloop resident who lost her home to the bushfire that claimed two lives in the small WA town says the community will support one another.

The community of Yarloop, in Western Australia's South West region, plan to return to the fire-devastated town together in convoy to support one another.

Kate Barry, who lost her house to the fire on Thursday night, said the small community of Yarloop was strong and would stick together over the coming months.

"Everyone is upset, they can't comprehend it, I can't until I stand in front of it and actually see it," Ms Barry told AAP.

The bushfire, which tore through the town destroying 128 houses and killing two people, has burnt more than 72,600 hectares through the shires of Harvey and Waroona since Wednesday.

Ms Barry, who has lived in Yarloop for more than 20 years, said she was anxious to return to the town.

"We're a strong community, we really are, we're all going to stick together and we're planning on doing a convoy back when we're allowed back in so we can support each other," she said.

The Yarloop local said there was some confusion in the hours leading up to the evacuation of the town.

"There was a real lack of communication in our town, I only knew how bad it was because my friend - a volunteer firefighter - came and told me to get out," Ms Barry said.


Share

2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world