The conditions that fed the Wooroloo fire were months in the making. November 2020 had brought record-breaking rainfall to the Perth region, with the nearby community of Gidgegannup receiving 137.8 millimeters, shattering the previous record of 85 millimeters set in 1985. That moisture drove explosive vegetation growth. Then the rain stopped. December 2020 and January 2021 together produced less than 5 millimeters of rainfall. The lush growth dried into kindling, carpeting the hills in what firefighters recognized as perfect fuel. When a man allegedly used an angle grinder on his property on 1 February, the sparks found eager material. The temperature that day reached 38 degrees Celsius, and the wind was blowing hard.

The fire was first reported at 12:02 pm and moved with terrifying speed. Spot fires leapt 500 meters ahead of the main front. By 6 pm, fifty-nine houses had been destroyed. Three hundred firefighters and twenty aircraft fought the blaze, but the fire continued racing west-southwest through Gidgegannup, Brigadoon, and the Shady Hills estate. Fire bombers were hampered because a local airstrip's runways were under maintenance. Two fire trucks were lost. Six firefighters sustained injuries. By the time rain arrived on 7 February, the fire had burned through thousands of hectares across four local government areas, destroying at least 86 homes, making it one of the most destructive bushfires in Perth's modern history.

The collision of bushfire and pandemic created confusion that was unprecedented in emergency management. Evacuating residents were uncertain whether they could shelter with family or friends outside their homes, given lockdown restrictions. Police Commissioner Chris Dawson cut through the ambiguity: "If you are under threat, leave your property. Do not stay in the property if you think you have to obey the COVID-19 rules." Firefighters wore masks and followed COVID-safe guidelines that recommended limiting shared personnel across vehicles, while 700 evacuees registered at emergency shelters, 230 of them sleeping overnight. The pandemic also complicated interstate mutual aid, with DFES investigating whether bringing fire crews from other states was feasible under the circumstances.

The financial response was swift and generous. The Lord Mayor's Distress Relief Fund was reopened, with Premier McGowan contributing $2 million on behalf of the state. Rio Tinto donated $2 million, the WA Chamber of Minerals and Energy committed $2.5 million, and by 12 February the fund had reached $12.3 million, eventually totaling $16.7 million. The Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements added $18.1 million for clean-up and community programs. Forty-eight-hour permits were issued so that families from the Tilden Park Estate could return to see what remained of their homes. For many, what remained was foundations and ash.

Police arson investigators and Western Power crews focused their attention on the property at the fire's point of origin, examining power lines, domestic electrical connections, and service pits. In July 2021, WA Police charged a man with breach of duty and carrying out an activity that could cause a fire, alleging the use of an angle grinder that threw sparks into the dry vegetation. The charge fell short of arson, but for families who had lost everything, the distinction between carelessness and malice offered little comfort. Less than eleven months later, another fire would ignite near Beechina, barely five kilometers away, in what investigators would treat as a suspicious blaze, compounding the region's sense of vulnerability.