WA may call on eastern states to help fight fire

Harvey resident Micheal Macrae evacuated with 12 other people and also said she hoped her home was still standing when she returned.

More than 100 properties were burnt to the ground in Yarloop, a hamlet of 500 people 129 km south of Perth, authorities said this morning.

The fire has torn through 50,000 hectares and jumped containment lines overnight.

Gregson said three or four people had minor injuries as a result of the blaze, which was fanned by strong winds, but added: “Sadly we have three people unaccounted for from Yarloop”.

Residents have told the ABC that historical buildings in the town have been destroyed including the steam workshop, old hospital, church and hotel.

The Western Australian reports that Yarloop Bowling Club president Ron Sackville said the fire had ripped through the main street of the town.

In a statement released earlier today (8 January), the council said around 95 homes are believed to have been destroyed along with businesses and infrastructure.

“These are yet to be definitively confirmed figures – but it appears that we’ve lost around 95 homes…

We will have lost some of our rentals, so there will be people who need to be re-housed and there will be a lot of insurance stuff to follow up”, she said.

‘But I look around 360 degrees and everything is burnt to a cinder.

A bushfire emergency warning remains in place for the shires of Harvey and Waroona, and surrounding areas including Preston Beach. “It will have and has had a major impact on that community”, WA Fire and Emergency Services commissioner Wayne Gregson said.

Mr Hilbers said he had lived in the area his whole life and knew what the wind was like and with the land being so dry he could have predicted what would happen.

“You’ve got seasoned firefighters who’ve been around for many years saying they’ve never seen anything like it”, Mr Cowper said.

Evacuations… Incident Controller Greg Mair gives a briefing to residents at a temporary bush fire evacuation centre. “You can get to the stage where your suppression activity is not going to make a significant difference to the fire suppression efforts”.