Residents northeast of Perth are bracing for the worst as a devastating bushfire has claimed properties and is encroaching on the town of Gingin.
Hundreds of firefighters were battling a blaze east of Gingin, an hour north of Perth, which had burned through 2600 hectares 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.
Department of Fire and Emergency Services superintendent Clinton Kuchel said the larger blaze, which started in Bindoon, is “uncontained and uncontrolled and representing a significant threat to communities”.
The West Australian understands a number of properties have been destroyed in Bindoon, with vision captured by 7NEWS showing a house and sheds on fire.
Mr Kuchel said variable winds were forecast on Sunday night and lightning was predicted.
“Time is against us in these things,” he said. Mr Kuchel said wind changes had been unpredictable and causing “fluctuations” in the fire.
Firefighters were trying to keep the Brand Highway open, but Mr Kuchel warned the “key transport link” could be closed at any time.
“We’ve got the two incidents that are bracketing the Brand Highway… we’re watching that and running predictions in both directions,” he said.
Mr Kuchel said DFES had received “unconfirmed reports” of properties lost, but investigators were not yet able to get to the scene.
“We’ve got a rapid damage assessment team on the ground at the moment. They’ve tried to get access to the fire ground, both by road and by air,” he said.
“The fire behaviour out there, the fire intensity is extreme. So we’ll get out there (to assess the damage) as soon as we can.”
Lives and homes in parts of Gingin, Bindoon, Lennard Brook, Mooliabeenee and Moondah in the shires of Chittering and Gingin remained under threat on Sunday night with an emergency warning still in place.
Residents west of Wowra Drive to Cockram Road and south of Mooliabeenee Road to Creighton Road who hadn’t already evacuated were being advised to shelter in their homes as it was too late to leave.
People in the rest of the emergency warning area were advised to leave immediately or prepare to shelter as the fire continued to move in multiple directions.
The Department of Communities has opened an evacuation centre at Bendigo Centre Recreation Grounds in Gingin.
Help for WA firefighters was on its way from the NSW Government, with their water bomber en route to Perth.
The fire comes amid Perth’s heatwave after temperatures soared to over 40 degrees on Saturday.
A bushfire that threatened homes in Chittering was declared controlled on Sunday night, while a second fire to Gingin’s west which broke out near the entrance to RAAF Base Gingin, remained on watch and act.
Bushfires were also raging in York, Collie, Manjimup, Marble Bar, and Ashburton on Sunday.
Despite temperatures easing, a dual weather threat was set to pose added challenges to firefighters on Sunday night.
Temperatures, already in the mid-30s on Sunday, are forecasted for a maximum of 34 degrees on Monday and 35 on Tuesday before cooling later in the week.
The Bureau of Meteorology had also issued an advice for large swathes of regional WA to prepare for severe thunderstorms, which could bring flooding and heavy winds.
The advice applied to people in the Central Wheatbelt, parts of Gascoyne, Goldfields, Central West, South West and Great Southern, who were urged to take action to prepare.
For the latest updates visit Emergency WA.