ELECTRICITY Networks Corporation trading as Western Power faced charges in Midland court on February 2 in relation to the December 2023 bushfire in Parkerville.

The first hearing was in relation to charges that allege the utility had, as a network operator, failed to ensure as reasonably practicable that the site of a notifiable incident was not disturbed in such a way as to prejudice examination.

They also allegedly failed to ensure the network was designed, constructed, operated and maintained so as to ensure that it is safe.

The third charge accused the energy operator of destroying or disposing of physical evidence relating to the incident.

The 2023 fire started with a tree falling on powerlines in Parkerville according to Department of Fire and Emergency Services commissioner Darren Klemm.

The fire began in the morning near the intersection of Granite and Johnston Roads and travelled east toward the Parkerville township.

In that process, it burned through 90ha of land and destroyed two homes.

As reported in Bushfire heartache eased by community support residents Georgia Bolden and her partner Mark Norton were one of the families whose home was burnt down.

The Shire of Mundaring then voted unanimously to waive rate payments for those affected by the Parkerville bushfire, including Ms Bolden and Mr Norton.

The 2023 Parkerville fire was also a point of inspiration for an RMIT research topic analysing evacuation behaviour in bushfires, as reported in Researchers seeking answers to Parkerville fire.

RMIT University principal research fellow Erica Kuligowski led a team of researchers who spoke to residents about their experience of the 2023 and 2014 fires.

The findings were then published online a year later on November 18, 2025.

In the report, Parkerville residents revealed they felt their risk to bushfires was high as they were aware of the larger areas of bush they lived by.

A key barrier to information access identified by many participants was the loss of power and phone signal and it was noted that telecommunications within the Perth Hills can be temperamental and often goes out during a hazard event.

Since the fires, Shire of Mundaring President Paige McNeil has been pushing to establish solutions for reliable telecommunications in the event of another fire.

Mundaring strengthen their ties in Canberra reported Ms McNeil attended the 2024 National General Assembly in Canberra to engage federal ministers and advocate for better telecommunications connectivity.

Western Power has also begun trialling covered high‑voltage conductors in Parkerville this year to boost reliability, protect wildlife and reduce bushfire risk as reported in Covered conductors to be trialled in Parkerville.

Western Power executive asset management manager Gair Landsborough said once the trial was completed, the Parkerville network would be the first Western Power network to be entirely made of covered conductors.

The charges against Western Power were brought by the WA director of energy safety under the Electricity (Network Safety) Regulations 2015.

The matter was adjourned with Western Power to reappear in court on May 8.