Authorities are urging homeowners in the state's south to be particularly vigilant this bushfire season as the impacts of last summer's record-breaking dry spell continue to be felt. Large areas of bushland remain dry with vast quantities of dead trees and still-scorched undergrowth adding to available fuel loads.
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00:00An ominous start to summer, a fire burning more than 75,000 hectares of bushland in the
00:08state's midwest last month.
00:10The town of Cervantes escaped damage, but it was a dramatic reminder of the risk posed
00:15by high fuel loads.
00:17A record setting dry spell has created vast areas of dry bushland across WA, from coasts
00:24to inland forests.
00:25This year, the tree deaths that we've seen from Durian Bay all the way down through into
00:30the Capes region, down the Darling Scarp, is going to be an issue for us.
00:34They're pleading with people who live in the firing line to make preparations now.
00:39The community really needs to come to terms with the fact that Western Australia is really
00:44bushfire prone.
00:45Really important that people have their plan.
00:47And you don't have to go very far to fight areas that are still struggling to bounce
00:51back from that prolonged dry spell.
00:54These mary trees here along the Margaret River once played host to lively flocks of
00:58black cockatoos.
01:00Local experts saying areas like this are at a critical point of their survival.
01:05I think this vegetation die off event of this year, it's a wake up call.
01:10We saw areas like this where there was patches of what looked like complete death of some
01:20species.
01:21They're coming back.
01:22But there are signs of life, and land managers are urging visitors to tread lightly among
01:28the impacted bushland to give it the best chance of recovery ahead of another dry summer.
01:34This recovery is pretty fragile.
01:36It puts the spotlight on the need for us to manage our remnant vegetation with a lot of
01:42respect and a lot of care.
01:44Taking care of habitat to keep the fires at bay.
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