Key Points
- An out-of-control bushfire is believed to have destroyed ten homes in Perth’s northern suburbs.
- More than 1,000 properties in the area are without power.
- Temperatures are expected to reach 40C today.
Ten homes have been lost in bushfires in metropolitan Perth with fears the toll could climb higher as authorities warn it's likely to be days before the situation is under control.
More than 150 firefighters are battling a massive blaze in the city's northern suburbs that forced hundreds of local families to leave as embers rained down on their homes overnight.
Videos and photos posted online appear to show gutted homes and sheds with twisted and buckled tin roofs surrounded by blackened gardens.
Firefighters were recorded battling spot fires near homes in gusty winds and intense smoke that pushed the blaze into suburban streets.
Sarah Kilian stayed to defend her home in Tapping from the blaze that ripped through nearby market gardens and engulfed a local park after leaping a four-lane road.
There were "two massive fires coming down the road and smoke everywhere," she told AAP on Thursday.
"We haven't slept a wink."
Kilian said most of her neighbours left during the night as embers rained down on their homes, which border semi-rural areas.
"Lucky my hubby stomped them out. It was just scary all night — absolutely chaotic."
Emergency Services Minister Stephen Dawson said a huge amount of firefighting resources, including multiple water bombers, were battling the blaze.
"This is a significant fire ... this will be a long-running incident and could take some time before the fire is brought under control given the situation we find ourselves in terms of the wind and high temperatures," he said.
"The firefighters have been working incredibly hard to make sure we save as many homes as possible."
Department of Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner Darren Klemm said the fire broke containment lines in the early hours of Thursday with spot fires breaking out about a kilometre ahead of the fire front.
An emergency warning remains in place for Wanneroo, Jandabup, Mariginiup, Melaleuca, Sinagra, Banksia Grove and Tapping, about 30km north of the city centre.
Some residents continue to be told it is too late to leave their homes and they should immediately find shelter away from the fire front, which is moving in a southwesterly direction.
"You are in danger and need to act immediately to survive," the Department of Fire and Emergency Services said on Thursday.
"There is a threat to lives and homes."
More than 100 firefighters are battling the massive blaze. Source: AAP / Sean Blocksidge
"In these conditions, these fires can spread so fast," he told ABC News.
He said the fire had "pulled up" as it reached urban areas and was spreading on its flanks to the north and south.
"We are expecting strong winds again today in difficult conditions with high temperatures," he said.
Western Australia is in the grip of a severe heatwave and Perth is forecast to reach 40C on Thursday, with wind gusts up to 80km/h.
More than 1,000 properties in the bushfire area are without power, with reports that power poles and lines and other infrastructure have been damaged.
Multiple evacuation centres have also been set up for residents and animals rescued from the fire zone.
Local resident Bruno Rikli helped evacuate an elderly couple from home overnight as the fire front crept within a few streets of their property.
"There was a massive plume of smoke in the night sky and a ball of red embers that was glowing red," he told AAP.
"Roads were blocked but we got them out."
Rikli said the couple's home survived the night without damage but the wind had started to whip up on Thursday morning, with ash falling on homes several km west of the blaze.
"You can smell the smoke and it's hazy but fire crews are doing an amazing job," he said.
The fire was first reported about 1pm on Wednesday and 15 square km of bush and grassland has been burned.
