Honey producers counting the cost from bushfire emergency around Cervantes and Wedge Island north of Perth

Apiarists have worked to defend hundreds of beehives over the course of this week's fire emergency in Western Australia. A bushfire continues to threaten coastal communities north of Perth, having burned through more than 75,000 hectares of bushland. Local honey producers report that the fire has destroyed critical bee habitat, leading to potential million-dollar losses. Hundreds of tonnes of honey will be lost, and the impact on bee populations could be felt for the next decade. The fire zone was home to about 80 apiary sites, which have now been devastated, turning flourishing vegetation into uninhabitable land.