Fire trucks from across the region circled Yarloop to commemorate the ninth anniversary of the 2016 blaze

On January 6, 2016, lightning caused fire to a patch of bushland in the Waroona shire.

Over the next few days the blaze would spread rapidly south turning more than 69,000ha to ash.

Then the blaze hit the small town of Yarloop, where, over the next few hours, 161 homes were destroyed and two people lost their lives.

Almost a decade later, firefighters from across the region gathered at the Yarloop Volunteer Bushfire Brigade station for a symbolic drive around the town, honouring the ninth anniversary of the catastrophe.

Yarloop Volunteer Bushfire Brigade Capt. Matt Anzellio, who was first lieutenant of the brigade at the time, said what his crew thought would be a routine call-out ended up being one of their hardest battles.

“Our initial thought was that this was just another incident to turn out to, but obviously by the time we got outside and saw the red flow in the sky that changed very quickly,” he said.

Over the coming hours Capt. Anzellio would battle the blaze while trying to evacuate community members.

Nick Mellowship was a volunteer firefighter with the Bunbury Volunteer Fire Brigade at the time, on the ground alongside Mr Anzellio fighting the blaze.

“We were here at the start, I ate dinner at the old (Yarloop) fire station and the next day it was gone,” he said.

Also living through the 2016 blaze was Yarloop resident Jan Robinson who said the sight of an “orange monster” coming towards her home will not soon be forgotten.

“It changed from an orange cloud into flames, and we knew we had to move on,” she said.

Thankfully, Mrs Robinson was prepared to evacuate, though leaving the town proved an immense challenge.

“Driving away was very disorienting,” she said.

“You had the smoke swirling around you, and the lights and sirens of the fire trucks, so you couldn’t see where you were going, even with headlights on, you couldn’t see the road.”

Also forced to leave her home in 2016 was Ruth Goodwill, who watched as the flames raced down from the Darling Range.

“I had the car packed and just had to put the dog in,” she said.

Mrs Goodwill said she evacuated to the town’s oval as the fire surrounded them from both sides, trapping them.

Fortunately, both Mrs Goodwill and Mrs Robinson’s home survived the blaze, though the fire reached Mrs Robinson’s property and destroyed possessions surrounding her home.

When given the all-clear and allowed to return to the town, Mrs Robinson said it was “horrendous” seeing so much of the town destroyed.

Seeing the trucks travel around town each year to commemorate the catastrophe, Mrs Robinson expressed immense gratitude for all those involved.

“They’re brilliant, and they just keep coming back all the time,” she said.

“Every single one of them is fantastic and it’s so nice to see all the other brigades come here for this anniversary.”

While out fighting the blaze, Capt. Anzellio’s home was one of the 161 destroyed.

“You’re out on a fire protecting other people’s properties and unfortunately, you can’t be home protecting your own,” he said.

“Rome wasn’t build in a day, but the community is being rebuilt.

“It probably won’t have the charm of the old mill houses and the wood framed homes, but the new people coming into town will help make it Yarloop again.”

Mr Mellowship said it was a timely reminder about the importance of volunteer firefighters and encouraged anyone able to volunteer to do so.

“The more people we can get doing it, the more it spreads the load so we don’t have to have people working all day and all night and they can go home and spend time with their families,” he said.

Capt. Anzellio said along with more volunteers, people being prepared with a bushfire plan was his biggest hope in the blaze’s wake.