Environment repair will 'take years'

The environmental effects of the fire that ravaged Yarloop and surrounding areas will be felt for years to come, according to the Department of Parks and Wildlife.

As the fire was completely extinguished and towns in the shires of Harvey and Waroona were given the all clear on Saturday, authorities have started to assess the damage.

The inferno lasted 17 days, burning through more than 69,000ha of land with a perimeter of more than 392km.

Access is still restricted in some areas, but DPaW has started the gruelling task of its post-bushfire recovery process.

A spokeswoman said while Australian plants and animals had adapted to survive in fire prone surroundings, the size and intensity of the fire would have significant environmental effects on the South West in the short and medium term.

"In areas of highest fire intensity, some of the mature overstorey and understorey may have been killed," she said.

"But a number of species are likely to re-shoot from protected buds on their roots or stems and new seedlings are likely to grow from seeds that have been shed.

"The bushfire will have also affected native wildlife across the area through direct impacts from heat and smoke when the bushfire was running."

The spokeswoman said wildlife would also be affected by the impacts on habitat diversity.

Despite the fire being sparked by a lightning strike at Lane Poole Reserve, main recreation areas of the Dwellingup park were not affected.

However, a number of other recreation spots were hit, including 42km of the Munda Biddi Trail, 12km of the Bibbulmun Track and a big stretch of the Fawcett four-wheel-drive track along the Murray River.

The DPaW spokeswoman said vegetation growth, the return of plant communities and the recolonisation of native animals was likely to take several years.

As part of the recovery process, the department will start to rehabilitate containment lines which were constructed to fight the fire.

Other DPaW projects will include the construction of erosion control barriers, targeted weed and feral animal control, monitoring of native plants and animals and the replacement or repair of visitor facilities and other infrastructure in the area.