High temperatures, dry conditions, and over two million lightning strikes have led to multiple bushfires over the last two weeks in farming communities south-east of Perth in Australia's west.
Bushfires have raged in Wickepin, Corrigin and neighbouring communities.
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who live in the area have been defending their homes, fighting the fires and helping their neighbours.
"We’ve had many power and communications outages and fire flare-ups, and a dry lightning outbreak last Friday," Keallie Scott, a Latter-day Saint from Wickepin, reported this week. "140km hour winds and again incredibly hot."
"Rural and outback Western Australia is often plagued with severe dry lightning storms," Scott says. "I’m 60 years old and have lived mostly in this area all my life. We have witnessed horrendous fires and horribly hot dry extreme winds on many occasions."
DOWNLOADAccording to an ABC News report this week, "In just two hours yesterday afternoon, 68 new incidents arose, most of which were fires sparked by an intense series of lightning strikes. Many of those were in our Great Southern region, with several escalating rapidly to emergency warning level."
Earlier this month, Scott wrote to friends: “Just to let you know we are all safe. Wickepin was evacuated late Sunday afternoon – I went around to quite a few homes earlier in the day and alerted people to the fire as my sons Quintin and Bronson, were down at the firefront and texted me how ferocious it was – so many people had no idea there was a fire! The fire was out of control and uncontainable."
Scott reported that three local Latter-day Saint men, Bronson Scott, Quintin Turner and Emmanuel Burrow “have actively fought the fires and assisted to support the fire-fighting efforts. They are exhausted and have had very little sleep.”
Another Church member, Laurie Scott, stayed to watch over and defend his family’s farm homestead and their neighbour’s property.
Keallie Scott recalls that “the efforts of the hundreds of Volunteer Bush Fire Brigades, Fireys, DFES units – our main street with all the fire vehicles turning up from just everywhere was a sight to behold as they had their briefings, multiple heli-tankers, water bomber aircraft, several huge jets circling our town repeatedly, then dropping flame retardant lines to help protect the town of Wickepin from burning. Magnificent!”
Scott shared that she and a group of local women gathered in one of the streets of their town, “united women of different faiths,” to pray “to our Almighty God, petitioning Him to bless and protect everyone involved and requested of Heavenly Father, if it was His will to grant unto us a miracle in saving our town, farms, homesteads, people, livestock and birds and creatures—to bring this under control.”
She reported that power has been out, as well as landlines, mobiles and Internet.
“No communications for several hours added to the general confusion as even the police had no radio. They were seconded here from everywhere to assist in direction and closing roads.”
Scott said that “trees blew down in the horrendous wind, fracturing the pipeline on the Wickepin-Harrismith Road, causing holes spurting out which also retarded the fire but also a decrease in pressure. Wickepin has a huge one million gallon tank on top of the high point of the west ridge about 5 km from town.”
Through all of this, Scott says she “was so calm and peaceful…as the Holy Ghost was here with me to help me, as I hosed down livestock yards soaked shelters, sheds, gardens and homesteads. Heavenly Father mercifully sent misty showers and some heavier scattered showers and then the really big aircraft came to help.”
“That’s when I knew we were possibly in for some very serious trouble. Pitch black heavens long before nightfall as we waited for the firefront and ember attacks that we hoped would not eventuate as there was some ash falling.”
Scott continues: “I drew down my town rainwater tanks almost completely dry. Heavenly Father has blessed me with 170,000 litres carrying capacity which we’ve been using since the rains ceased end September, and my solar power-wall to almost zero keeping the sprinkler on my house roof as I left to evacuate.”
“Heavenly Father granted us our miracle – our town still stands our farm homesteads have mostly escaped being razed. Thanks be to our Almighty God for the multitude of His tender mercies!”
Scott says that her son, Bronson, said that at one stage their loaded water truck got bogged in deep sand in a paddock and they were surrounded by fire and everything burnt around them except the patch of ground they were on.
"Bronson said he was completely calm and at peace while the fires raged all around them and he knew they were going to be okay, that Heavenly Father was protecting them!"
Read more about the fires and community responses at ABC News.