An out-of-control bushfire in Perth’s northeast has destroyed more than 70 homes, with residents to the north of the blaze told to evacuate as southerly winds whip up.
The massive blaze with a 110km perimeter is racing northalong the city’s coastal plain after destroying 71 homes near the hills town of Wooroloo.
Residents in the suburbs of Shady Hills View and Bullsbrook – where the RAAF Base Pearce is located – have been told to evacuate with wind gusts up to 70km/h possible late on Wednesday.
Western Australia’s Department of Fire and Emergency Services Deputy Commissioner Operations Craig Waters said the shifting wind was making life tough for firefighters.
“We’ve had three outbreaks … one on the northwest corner of the fire which is going to threaten Shady Hills in a couple of hours,” he told reporters.
“Tonight, given the terrain, will be extremely dangerous.”
The blaze has also broken containment lines on the southwest corner of the fire near Avon Ridge Estate and to the north along Berry Road in Gidgegannup.
“One of the biggest issues is the terrain around the fire areas, it’s very steep … a lot of valleys, a lot of hills, so we’re experiencing really flukey winds,” Mr Waters said.
“The fire has (also) been spotting well ahead of the main head fire.
“We’re asking all community members (in warning areas) to enact their fire plan.”
A DFES warning remains in place for people in a 15 kilometre arc of land stretching west from Gidgegannup to Walyunga National Park, south of Bullsbrook.
“It’s too late to leave and leaving now would be deadly. You need to shelter in your home in a room away from the fire front and make sure you can easily escape,” the warning stated.
Firefighters battle a blaze in Brigadoon, Perth, on Tuesday, 2 February.
DFES via AAP
Lower Chittering resident Stewart Brisbane, 55, decided to stay and defend his rural property, about five kilometres north of Bullsbrook.
“It’s starting to get real, the wind is picking up and the smoke is thicker. We’ve been getting embers for a while now, so I’ve just primed the fire pumps to help protect us,” he told AAP.
“All the warnings are starting to fly in on the phone telling people to evacuate.
“I guess it’s just a case of standing back and waiting for it.”
Residents look on during a community meeting at an evacuation centre in Swan View, Perth, Wednesday, 3 February, 2021.
AAP
Earlier on Wednesday, Premier Mark McGowan said WA was enduring an unprecedented crisis.
“We’re facing disasters on two fronts – the devastating bushfires and the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said, referring to a five-day lockdown for metropolitan Perth, the Peel region and the South West.
“The fire has devastated our community. We know that 71 homes have been lost and that number is expected to rise.”
Premier of Western Australia Mark McGowan speaks at the Incident Control Centre at the Mundaring Arena, Perth, on 3 February, 2021.
AAP
Prime Minister Scott Morrison told parliament Australia was standing with the people of WA.
“No lives have been lost and no one is believed to be unaccounted for, and for that, we are deeply grateful,” he said.
People whose homes have been severely damaged, or destroyed or who’ve been seriously injured in the fires will be able to access $1,000 Commonwealth disaster recovery payments from Thursday.
Disaster Recovery Allowance payments will also be available for people who’ve lost income because of the blaze.
Evacuation centres have been set up at the Brown Park Recreation Complex in Swan View, Swan Active in Midland and Swan Active in Beechboro.
An anxious wait
Up to 300 people waited in 35-degree heat at the centre in Swan View on Wednesday afternoon, unable to return to the fire zone and unsure if their homes had been destroyed.
The Weale famly have three blocks and two properties in Brigadoon, and were forced to evacuate on Wednesday morning when conditions worsened.
Like many others, they face an anxious wait before they’re allowed to return to check their homes.
“We have no indication of when we’ll be able to return,” Claire Weale told SBS News.
“There isn’t really a timeframe for us. It’s difficult to try and put anything in place … we just don’t know.”
The Weale family were forced to evacuate on Wednesday morning when conditions worsened.
Aaron Fernandes / SBS News
Weather conditions are not expected to improve until the weekend when rain has been forecast. In the meantime, the area is set to endure warm temperatures with strong winds and low humidity.
The fire has burned through about 10,000 hectares since it started near Werribee Road in Wooroloo on Monday, with 300 firefighters battling the fire.
About 1300 homes and businesses in the region remain without electricity after the blaze damaged power lines and poles on Monday night.
