Hundreds of tonnes of honey will be lost as a result of bushfires burning north of Perth, with apiarists expecting the loss of pristine vegetation to impact bee populations for the next decade.
More than 75,000 hectares of bush has burned in the fire that has threatened a number of coastal communities for most of the week.
An emergency warning for Cervantes, 200km north of Perth, was downgraded last night but watch and act warnings remain in place for the town, as well as neighbouring communities of Wedge Island and Grey, with warnings expected to remain well into the weekend.
The fire zone was home to about 80 apiary sites leased by beekeepers around WA, but the bushfire has turned what was once flourishing vegetation into thousands of uninhabitable hectares.
Beekeeper Stephen Fewster spent Friday morning protecting beehives from the path of the fire, however he was most upset about bushland burned at apiary sites.
The fire, shot here from Jurien Bay, has ripped through more than 75.000 hectares of bushland. (Supplied: Clifton Matthews)
“This is one of the most pristine beekeeping areas in Australia, in the world probably,” he said.
“We get honey six to eight months of the year and that is all gone now.”
While no property or lives have been lost, Mr Fewster said it was hard to hear descriptions that “no assets” had been lost to the fire.
“I tried to add it up last night. It’s hundreds of thousands, millions of dollars, in just honey,” he said.
“Without the build up of the hives, which you can’t put a cost on.”
He said coastal vegetation was not valued in the same way as the forests of the South West.
“This area here produces more honey,” Mr Fewster said.
“There is active honey up here in the bottlebrush that’s more active than jarrah or better than jarrah, but no one realises that.”
Beekeeper Callum Spurge says the fires’ impact could be felt by the honey industry for decades. (Supplied: Callum Burge)
Critical sites lost for bees
Up to 100 beehives are located at each site for at least two or three months of the year, with local flora acting as a nursery to provide food for queen bee breeding and the creation of new hive colonies.
One of the state’s largest honey producers, Western Honey Supplies, has lost as many as 30 locations, including sites that were certified for organic production.
Spokesman Callum Spurge said the diverse flora blooms during the crucial spring and winter months.
With all of the sites lost, he said locating hives next to canola crops next winter was one option for hungry bees, but would risk the organic status.
“We’re not working the natural bushland and we’re not producing honey that is unique to Australia in any way,” he said.
The Spurge family has been producing honey in the area for five decades. (Supplied: Callum Spurge)
“We feel pretty connected to that place and my family’s been working it for maybe 40 to 50 years.”
“It’s maybe over 100 tonne of honey a year that we’re losing. And then that goes across five to 10 years … millions of dollars potentially over the course of a decade that we’re going to be losing as a result of this bushfire.”
Although Mr Spurge’s hives weren’t at the sites at the time of the blaze, it’s vital land for beekeepers like him and could take up to a decade to return to its original state, if at all.
“This bushland burning for us, it’s no different to a farmer’s paddock burning with a crop,” he said.
“We’ve lost our crop for the next five to 10 years and that’s a huge impact on our production.”
Department of Fire and Emergency Services incident controller Damien Pumphrey said they were working through the damage suffered by apiarists and other producers to determine the support that could be provided.
Scary days for residents
The bushfire caused an anxious few days for residents of the small coastal town of Cervantes.
Local resident Wanda Harley chose to stay in town, and praised the area’s community spirit in dealing with the blaze.
Wanda Harley says the bushfire was a frightening time for people in Cervantes. (ABC News: Briana Shepherd)
“The most scary thing was watching the news, and I guess all the smoke and when we started getting big chunks of ash on us,” she said.
“That was a little bit scary for us all.
“We’re very lucky, because we’ve got such a great community and the firefighters and the town spirit of everyone.
Smoke from the fire created an eerie sunset off Cervantes on Friday night. (Supplied: Wanda Harley)
“They all just get together and they do a really good job.”
Allison Carnegie-Smith, a Cervantes resident of 23 years, also chose to remain in town and said she was relieved when the fire warning level was downgraded.
“Last night was really peaceful in town, and I felt really quite relaxed, but we have to remain vigilant,” she said.
Cervantes resident Allison Carnegie-Smith was relieved when the fire warning was downgraded. (ABC News: Briana Shepherd)
“We have to clean up and recover and that’s going to take quite some time.
“Now I think the reality of what we’ve been through will come upon us.”
Ms Carnegie-Smith said she would hold a free restorative yoga class for residents and firefighters on Sunday afternoon.
