An emergency bushfire warning remains in place for Gingin and Bindoon, as firefighters battle to get the blaze under control.
Facing temperatures of up to 39C and northerly winds, DFES has maintained the emergency warning residents bounded by Cockram Road to the west, Mooliabeenee Road and Ashworth Road to the north, Crest Hill Road to the east and Gray Road and Creighton Road to the south in parts of Bindoon, Breera, Gingin, Lennard Brook, Mooliabeenee and Moondah.
After concerns the Gingin townsite was under threat last night, and confirmation of at least one property destroyed, a change of fire direction has seen Bindoon move to an advice level.
Hundreds of firefighters were battling the blaze, which had burned through 2900ha of land, with officials urging residents to evacuate.
Initially believed to have been under control, a shift in wind conditions late on Sunday saw the bushfire tear through bush and properties in Lennard Brook south of Mooliabeenee Road.
Gingin president Wayne Fewster said he was hopeful firefighters could get the blaze under control.
“The fire is about 90 per cent tracked but we are trying to tidy it up as it is a pretty ugly fire boundary. We need to straighten a few edges so we haven’t got pockets that could cause a problem,” he said.
“We’re pretty hopeful we’ll get around it and get it under control but there is going to be winds and temperatures of up to 40C later today, which could pose an issue.”
He confirmed there had been property loss with crews on site to assess the damage.
“The support has been unbelievable and it’s situations like this that really make us proud of what the community can achieve,” he said.
The Department of Communities has opened an evacuation centre at Bendigo Centre Recreation Grounds in Gingin.
Firefighters have been bolstered by the arrival of the NSW Government’s large air tanker, which will be based in Perth for the next few days.
“With the majority of NSW currently experiencing wet weather, the RFS Large Air Tanker ‘Marie Bashir’ has been deployed to Western Australia,” the NSW RFS tweeted.
“Over the coming days, our LAT will be based near Perth, providing assistance to local firefighters as they deal with several large fires.”
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