An out-of-control bushfire burning in the Perth Hills that has already destroyed up to 30 homes is “extremely volatile” and an active “threat to lives and homes,” Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan has said.
A firefighting Boeing 737 aircraft from New South Wales (NSW) was flown west to assist with efforts to battle the blaze, which had ripped through 7,300 hectares by yesterday afternoon and triggered a smoke warning after ash fell in the Perth — about 30km from the fire front.
McGowan briefed Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on the fire, which has a 75km perimeter and raged overnight through the town of Wooroloo.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The shires of Mundaring, Chittering and Northam as well as the city of Swan have been affected. People in a 25km stretch west from Wooroloo to the Walyunga National Park northeast of Perth have been told that it was too late to leave.
Residents subject to the state’s snap five-day COVID-19 lockdown were also told to disregard the stay-at-home direction and to leave their properties if they believed they were under threat.
This advice included close contacts of the quarantine hotel security guard who has tested positive and anyone else who had been instructed to self-isolate.
McGowan, while providing a coronavirus update yesterday afternoon, said Western Australia was battling “two different kinds of emergencies.”
“It is going to be an extremely challenging day for everyone involved,” the premier said. “Please do everything you can to keep you and your family safe and look after each other.”
McGowan said that the state Department of Fire and Emergency Services had said “they have lost 80 percent of all properties in the rural area of Tilden Park in Gidgegannup.”
Council documents show there are at least 33 properties in Tilden Park.
Western Power has said about 2,750 homes and businesses were without power due to the bushfires burning in Wooroloo, Bailup and Gidgegannup.
“We are currently securing another large aerial tanker from NSW to assist. It should be here in Western Australia later today. I’ve also briefed the prime minister on this situation and also on the COVID situation this morning,” McGowan said.
“A number of homes have been lost and the morning winds are predicted to turn from easterly to northwesterly. Weather conditions are extremely volatile,” he said.
Western Australia Police Commissioner Chris Dawson urged residents of Perth and other areas under lockdown to “do whatever you need to do to protect your life and those of your immediate family.”
“Let me be clear. I urge people to stay informed and prepare themselves,” Dawson said. “If you are under threat, leave your property and go to suitable premises. Do not stay in the property if you think you have to obey the COVID-19 rules.”
Western Australia Department of Fire and Emergency Services Deputy Commissioner of Operations Craig Waters said that strong winds were the main obstacle hampering firefighting efforts.
Waters said that a lack of water in the soil was affecting how the fire was behaving.
The fire had doubled in size since Monday night, he said.
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