FIRE AT FITZROY VALLEY RODEO GROUNDS

In the central Kimberley, fire caused an estimated $60,000 damage to important infrastructure on Wednesday night.

Rodeo Club president Chris Towne said he believed the fire was deliberately lit and asked anyone who knows who did it to come forward.

Mr Towne said three big water tanks were destroyed by the fire, valuable equipment in two sea containers, and $40,000 worth of electrical wiring.

The Fitzroy Rodeo was set to go ahead on the weekend of July 8 to 10, and Mr Towne said the club would make a decision next week as to whether they can go ahead. 

He said the club was a not for profit and they did not have the funds needed to fix the damage. 

Derby West Kimberley shire president Geoff Haerewa said the consequences would be “huge” if the rodeo did not go ahead.

UPDATE:

Police are reluctant to blame the fire on an arsonist.

Police media Sergeant Alice Cockram said the damage was believed to have been caused when a scrub fire some distance away was carried by the wind and the Rodeo Grounds caught alight.

“At this stage the cause of the scrub fire is undetermined – that means there is no indication of criminality,” she said.