An Australian bushfire that ripped through a scenic coastal region left some areas looking like a war zone, residents said yesterday as authorities downgraded the alert level.
Thirty houses, four sheds and nine chalets, including the historic 1865 Wallcliffe House, were lost in the blaze, which also damaged a further 16 houses and one shop at Prevelly, Gnarabup and Redgate.
“Although the warning was downgraded overnight … a fire threat still exists and may worsen at any time,” Western Australia’s Department of Environment and Conservation’s bushfire advisory said.
It is expected it will take a week to fully extinguish the flames, which ripped through 3,363 hectares in the coastal, wine--growing region about 280km south of the west coast city of Perth.
One man who lost his home, Garrath Stewart, said his street had been badly hit by the blaze which burned out his house, but left clothes on the washing line in the garden virtually untouched.
“Napalm, Vietnam, defoliation — there’s just no vegetation in certain areas, you look out and it’s just sand and dead trees,” he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
“It’s like a war zone,” one -firefighter told Sky News. “Nothing can compare.”
The fire was sparked by a government burn-off that got out of control as high winds and soaring temperatures hit the area on Wednesday and Thursday.
Fire crews made the most of milder conditions on Friday to strengthen containment lines and about 250 firefighters and volunteers were working to ensure the fire does not spread again.
In February 2009, the deadly “Black Saturday” firestorm claimed 173 lives in Victoria state — the nation’s worst natural disaster of modern times.
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