Laws regulating the upkeep of privately owned power poles are likely to be scrutinised when the Perth hills bushfire is reviewed by fire and state government authorities.
The blaze, which destroyed 52 homes on Sunday, is believed to have been started by a fallen power pole on a private property.
Thousands of private power poles are spread throughout Western Australia and power poles were blamed for sparking a bushfire in December 2012 that threatened houses in Chidlowm, east of Perth.
As residents returned briefly to inspect their razed properties in Stoneville and Parkerville on Tuesday, Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner Wayne Gregson said it could be time to review the responsibilities placed on homeowners to maintain poles on their land.
"It does seem to me that if you've got a recurring causal factor for bushfires then it's time to have a discussion on those issues," he told reporters.
Mr Gregson said the department would give "frank advice" to the government when it reviewed the incident.
"There are some questions around power poles," he said.
"Who's authorised to do that inspection, what sort of responsibility or obligation ought there be on others to ensure that work is done?"
Emergency Services Minister Joe Francis said the private power pole issue could be discussed during a review of the incident, but did not want to pre-empt changes.
"I've always said I think there needs to be a balance between regulation and responsibility," he said.
Mr Francis said more heat and strong winds were forecast for this weekend.
"There's no guarantees that this isn't the last major incident of the year. We have to be prepared," he said.
Authorities are hoping to downgrade the alert from a watch and act to an advice level by Wednesday evening or Thursday morning.
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