Property has been destroyed in devastating bushfires north of Perth, as thousands of hectares remain engulfed in a destructive blaze.
Firefighters are battling a blaze west of Gingin, an hour north of Perth, about 2300ha in size and an even larger blaze near Bindoon about 2600ha.
Department of Fire and Emergency Services superintendent Clinton Kuchel said the larger blaze was “uncontained and uncontrolled and representing a significant threat to communities”.
The West understands a number of properties have been destroyed in Bindoon, with vision captured by 7NEWS showing houses on fire.
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.”
Firefighters are 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 wind changes had been unpredictable and causing “fluctuations” in the fire.
People in the emergency warning area must activate their bushfire plans immediately and either leave or stay and defend.
Mr Kuchel said variable winds were forecast on Sunday night and lightning was predicted.
“Time is against us in these things,” he said.
Help for WA firefighters was on its way from the NSW Government, with the water bomber en route to on Sunday afternoon.
But a dual weather threat was set to pose added challenges.
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 Wheat Belt, 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.