Esperance community fights for more change, a decade on from deadly bushfires

Sunday 16 NovemberSun 16 Nov 2025 at 9:34pm

A man stands in a wheat crop. — Greg Curnow surveys a wheat crop in 2025, with the events of November 2015 never far from his mind. (ABC Esperance: Tara De Landgrafft)

In short:

A decade on from bushfires that claimed four lives, Esperance locals say not enough has been done to ensure the community stays safe.

Farmer Kym Curnow and farm workers Thomas Butcher, Julia Kohrs-Lichte and Anna Winther died in a bushfire near Scaddan on November 17, 2015.

What's next?

Farmers and bush firefighters are pushing for an increase in funding for mitigation and hope to soon see details of a long-awaited consolidated Emergency Services Act.

A decade on from devastating bushfires that claimed the lives of four people in regional Western Australia, there is concern not enough has been done to ensure the tragedy is not repeated.

A remembrance service will be held today in Esperance, 700 kilometres south east of Perth, to remember the lives of Kym "Freddy" Curnow, Thomas Butcher, Julia Kohrs-Lichte and Anna Winther, who died on November 17, 2015 while attempting to flee from one of the worst bushfires the state has ever seen.

A firefighter stands on the back of a small trailer, surveying a bushfire at Grass Patch. — A firefighter battles a bushfire at Grass Patch, north of Esperance, that claimed four lives in November 2015. (Supplied: Department of Fire and Emergency Services)

For 11 days, three separate infernos fanned across 300,000 hectares, destroying 30,000 hectares of crops, one house, 16 sheds and 4,500 head of livestock.

In the years that followed, two reviews were undertaken — one publicly funded and one private — and a coroner's inquest concluded with 12 recommendations.

In November 2020, the West Australian government agreed to take on 10 of those recommendations.

But local farmers and firefighters believe there is still much left to be desired when it comes to fully acting upon those directives.

Esperance fire victims composite. — Thomas Butcher, Anna Winther, Kym Curnow and Julia Kohrs-Lichte died while attempting to flee one of WA's worst bushfires. (Supplied)

Fire still at forefront of community minds

Esperance shire president and volunteer firefighter Ron Chambers said some members of the community were still on edge at the first sign of smoke, 10 years on from the deadly blaze.

"It's funny when you start talking to people and just how quickly they reminisce or how they sort of say that it doesn't seem like 10 years,"

he said.

Esperance shire president Ron Chambers standing in the shade of a tree outside council building — Ron Chambers says people still keenly remember the deadly fires. (ABC Esperance: Andrew Williams)

In the decade since the bushfires, many of the coroner's 12 recommendations have been acted upon, including the establishment of an aerial firefighting fleet based in Esperance over harvest, new fire trucks, and a phone repeater tower installed at Peak Charles.

Mr Chambers believes further change is required, but acknowledges there have been positive improvements in the past decade.

"We've seen an awful lot of changes in and around the requirements and equipment and those sorts of things for volunteer firefighters, and a lot of technology that's been introduced into those sorts of realms."

Two men stand in a paddock of wheat. — Dan Sanderson and Greg Curnow say more money needs to be spent on bushfire mitigation. (ABC Esperance: Tara De Landgrafft)

Cascade farmer Greg Curnow lost his uncle Kym, or "Freddy" as he was known, in the 2015 blaze and said there was a lot left to be addressed.

"There has been some really good improvements and aspects to it, there are aspects that are quite disappointing though and still really haven't been addressed in a meaningful way," Mr Curnow said.

Mitigation still a major concern

In coroner Sarah Linton's 2019 report was a recommendation to instil a long term fire mitigation strategy for Esperance, funded over 10 years.

According to the Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES), since 2015 the state government has significantly increased its spending on bushfire mitigation on-ground works.

Local governments have been granted $9.5 million through the Mitigation Activity Fund Grants Program for on-ground works with $1.15 million of this spent within the Esperance Shire.

A paddock of wheat. — A paddock of wheat grows at Cascade, north of Esperance. (ABC Esperance: Tara De Landgrafft)

Dan Sanderson, one of the farmers who spearheaded a privately funded review into the bushfires, said mitigation was key.

"When we did our review of the fire, and along with the coroner's findings from the inquest, mitigation was a big one and there are still problems with mitigation at the moment," Mr Sanderson said.

"I was looking at cost-effective solutions, and I've given up on the cost-effective solutions. All I want is effective solutions and that's probably been the biggest change for me in the last 10 years.

Firefighters in two trucks battle an out of control bushfire at Grass Patch near Esperance — Firefighters and farm response units battle an out-of-control bushfire at Grass Patch near Esperance on November 19, 2015. (Supplied: Department of Fire and Emergency Services)

Greg Curnow agreed that mitigation was a priority, and said there needed to be more emphasis on local brigades carrying out the mitigation works.

"There's no 100 percenters in fire fighting, but mitigation is a 20 per cent. It's a big one,"

Mr Curnow said.

"It will be far more efficient, it will get done properly and safely, and at a fraction of the cost."

A man with a navy shirt stands in a paddock of wheat. — Dan Sanderson says not enough money is being spent of bushfire mitigation. (ABC Esperance: Tara De Landgrafft)

While the agricultural community had been proactive in the decade since, Mr Curnow believed more money was needed for mitigation.

"We've invested significantly in machinery and firefighting apparatuses personally, and pretty much every business in this location does," Mr Curnow said.

"We had another incidence with a young man passing away two years ago, from almost the exact same sort of incident.

"These things happen — we're in a high-risk area with lots of reserves which are unmanaged, unmaintained.

"I think the risk is always going to be there, but if this continues, it isn't going to reduce without positive change."

A man's hands near a wheat crop. — Dan Sanderson looks at the quality of a paddock of wheat, 10 years on from the Esperance bushfires. (ABC Esperance: Tara De Landgrafft)

Still waiting for legislation

Another point of contention for the Esperance community was the time it had taken for consolidated emergency services legislation to be drafted, which was another recommendation by the coroner.

Ron Chambers said they desperately wanted to see the detail of the bill.

"It is taking too long,"

Mr Chambers said.

"We need to get that act up so that we know what's in the act and the regulations that we'll work with."

A wheat crop. — Wheat growing at Greg Curnow's Cascade farm, a decade on from the 2015 bushfires. (ABC Esperance: Tara De Landgrafft)

However Dan Sanderson hoped there would be enough time for regional brigades to review the act and have input before the legislation was enshrined in law.

"We need that consultation period where we can have a look at it and work at it," he said.

"I'm concerned now that it will get rushed through and there will be like three months. It's not gonna be long enough."

DFES confirmed to the ABC that an Emergency Services Exposure Draft Bill was being prepared and that, once finalised, it would be released for public comment, including to regional brigades.