Name: Perth Hills bushfire at 'critical' stage as firefighters struggle to contain massive blaze - ABC News
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Perth Hills bushfire at 'critical' stage as firefighters struggle to contain massive blaze - ABC News

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Perth Hills bushfire at 'critical' stage as firefighters struggle to contain massive blazeShareFire authorities battling a massive bushfire threatening lives and homes in the Perth Hills say the situation is at a critical stage as strong south easterly winds push the blaze towards houses on the northern edge of the fire.Incident controller Peter Sutton said the situation was extremely dangerous, with strong gusts fanning the flames and multiple breakouts ahead of the main fire."The situation has become quite critical as we speak," he told ABC Radio."We are getting reports of buildings under immediate threat. "We're having multiple breakouts on the northern flank of the fire."We're really at a critical point in time."He said homes were under threat in Clenton Road, Berry Road and Toodyay Road in Gidgegannup, in the Avon Ridge estate in Brigadoon and along the Great Northern Highway.Wind gusts of up to 70 kilometres per hour were forecast to hit the area overnight, pushing the fire in a north-westerly direction.The Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES)&nbsp;warned people in or around Clenton Road,&nbsp;Berry Road and Gidgegannup they were in immediate danger and it was too late to leave.The blaze has destroyed 71 homes since it was sparked in Wooroloo in the Perth Hills on Monday, and a widespread emergency warning remains in place.The fire now covers 11,000 hectares and has a perimeter of 110 kilometres.Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) duty assistant commissioner Rick Curtis said the unpredictability and intensity of the blaze meant it was not safe for people in Shady Hills and east Bullsbrook to stay and defend their homes on Wednesday evening and they should leave immediately."Ground crews and aerial suppression efforts are struggling to contain the forward movement of that fire," he said."We would prefer to lose a house than lose a life. That's what it comes down to."He said 21 aircraft were fighting the fire, along with and more than 300 firefighters on the ground."This is a significant event that we are resourcing to the utmost," he said."The fire ground is under multiple pressures from the wind as it changes over the next few hours and that’s a really challenging environment."Those winds will continue to escalate through the night with gusts up to 60 kilometres an hour and then as we transition into tomorrow, we're seeing a more steady easterly influence."Bureau of Meteorology duty forecaster Noel Pusey said the strong winds were likely to last until Thursday afternoon.DFES Assistant Commissioner Craig Waters said the conditions on Wednesday evening would test firefighters."We're experiencing really flukey winds," he said."We're transitioning from a south-westerly across to an east-south-easterly, which is posing some issues for firefighting crews on the ground."That's going to put pressure on the perimeter of the fire which hasn't been put under pressure previously."There is still a significant amount of this fire which hasn't been tracked, which doesn't have fire breaks around it. It's still a work in progress at this point."Mr Waters said local firefighters were starting to become fatigued after three days on the ground and that work was underway to determine the feasibility of bringing in interstate crews.Gidgegannup resident Nerida Evans earlier shared dramatic vision of her driving through the bushfire zone.Ms Evans is staying to defend her farming property."[The fire] is currently burning up our boundary we have machines and fire units defending," she said.Premier Mark McGowan extended the support of the broader community to those impacted by the bushfire."This fire has devastated our community," Mr McGowan said."Seventy-one homes have been lost, that number is expected to rise."Perth and the affected fire zone are in the middle of a five-day coronavirus lockdown, which began on Sunday evening."This is a situation the likes of which we have never seen before, a full [COVID] lockdown and raging bushfires. It is frightening, and it will test us all," Mr McGowan said."To all those impacted by the fires, can I say, every single Western Australian is thinking of you today. We stand ready to help in any way that we can."The State Government said it had contributed $2 million to the Lord Mayor's Disaster Relief Fund, which is now accepting donations.The fire has burned through more than 11,000 hectares of land so far, with about 300 firefighters currently battling the blaze.The emergency warning now covers parts of Millendon, The Vines, Bailup, Ellenbrook, Gidgegannup, Walyunga National Park, Upper Swan, Aveley, Wundowie, Belhus, Baskerville, Bullsbrook, Wooroloo and Brigadoon, in the shires of Mundaring, Chittering and Northam and the City of Swan.The overall warning zone has been expanded to include a huge section of the metropolitan area.A Watch and Act remains current for other areas, including Aveley, Avon Valley National Park, Bailup, Baskerville, Bullsbrook, Ellenbrook, Gidgegannup, Henley Brook, Herne Hill, Lower Chittering, Middle Swan, Millendon, Melaleuca, Morangup, West Swan, Wooroloo, Wundowie, Dayton, Brabham, Hovea, Parkerville, Red Hill, Stoneville, Muchea, Jane Brook, Chidlow and Mount Helena, while other suburbs to Perth's east and north are subject to a bushfire advice.The fire is currently moving in a north-westerly direction.Mr Klemm said while the number of properties destroyed was expected to rise marginally, most homes in the path of the fire had now been assessed.&nbsp;"The rapid damage assessment teams have now almost finished their work," he said."There is a section on the western edge that they are unable to get to, and they are currently working through that with a helicopter to establish if any damage exists there."As soon as we get that final number I will make that available."Police Commissioner Chris Dawson said inquiries were continuing into the cause of the fire, with investigators confident they had identified its origin."We're quite certain it started in the locality of Werribee Road near Great Eastern Highway," he said."We don't know exactly how that started. There's no criminality that has been identified at this point, but it is undetermined."He also responded to reports of looting of evacuated homes."I have two reports of burglaries, one in the suburb of Aveley — a home that was evacuated as a precautionary measure with the fire situation — and another home in the locality of Red Hill," he said."In both instances a small number of items were stolen from these homes as a consequence of those occupants that had left, in terms of evacuation."I would not classify this as looting but it is concerning that there have been two burglaries in those locations."He said police patrols of the area would continue.Smoke from the bushfire blanketed a widespread area of Perth on Tuesday and a new smoke alert was issued late on Wednesday.Covering areas north of Toodyay Road and Gnangara Road including Bullsbrook, Two Rocks, Yanchep and Muchea, DFES warned the smoke may not clear for days.Temperatures in the affected fire zone reached around 35 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, but a cooler day is forecast for Thursday, with a top of 28 degrees.Three evacuation centres have been set up, at the Brown Park Recreation Complex in Swan View, Swan Active in Midland and Swan Active in Beechboro.About 230 people slept at the evacuation centres last night, while around 700 people have registered across the three venues.Australian Red Cross WA director Craig Stewart said there was psychological first aid available for people at the evacuation centres."People having to flee their homes and dealing with the bushfires there and having families scattered around the place, it can be a pretty traumatic experience," he said."Our volunteers are there to help people manage that psychological distress and connect them with support."Mr Stewart said there was also a register available at the evacuation centres to help reunite families who may have been separated."In the bushfire there's been power outages, telephone signals are difficult to access," he said."If people don't have a signal anywhere, if they attend an evacuation centre, we can take their details manually and load that up into the system later."The Federal&nbsp;Government has announced financial support for people whose homes have been damaged in the fire.Disaster recovery&nbsp;payments of&nbsp;$1,000&nbsp;per adult and $400 per child&nbsp;are available.Around 1,300 homes are without power as a result of the bushfire.2 Feb 20212 Feb 2021Tue 2 Feb 2021 at 9:27pm, 3 Feb 20213 Feb 2021Wed 3 Feb 2021 at 5:20pmMore on:Search any location in Australia to find nearby active incidentsStay up-to-date with local coverage on ABC Radio, the emergency broadcaster

Perth Hills bushfire at 'critical' stage as firefighters struggle to contain massive blazeShareFire authorities battling a massive bushfire threatening lives and homes in the Perth Hills say the situation is at a critical stage as strong south easterly winds push the blaze towards houses on the northern edge of the fire.Incident controller Peter Sutton said the situation was extremely dangerous, with strong gusts fanning the flames and multiple breakouts ahead of the main fire."The situation has become quite critical as we speak," he told ABC Radio."We are getting reports of buildings under...

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Perth Hills bushfire at 'critical' stage as firefighters struggle to contain massive blaze - ABC News

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