1 dead and homes lost in Perth wildfire
Print Edition
A MAN died and some 50 homes were razed after a fast-moving wildfire swept through the outskirts of western Australia’s Perth, officials said yesterday.
The blaze, thought to have been started by a fallen power line in the city’s wooded fringes on Sunday, was fanned by hot, strong gusts that saw 20-meter flames tear through residential streets.
Emergency authorities said 49 homes had been confirmed lost but warned that some 30 percent of the fire zone still needed to be searched.
Fears over the safety of four people missing in the blaze eased late yesterday after officials said they had been accounted for, leaving the disaster with just one victim — a 62-year-old man who collapsed on his roof during fire preparations.
Hundreds of residents fled their homes for evacuation centers. Some said they had only seconds to escape.
“Once the embers come, you’ve got no chance. They were raining down around us,” Stoneville resident Susan Daniels told The West Australian newspaper.
“I saw the flames at our neighbor’s wall and (her husband) Colin said ‘run,’ then he looked back and it was just a wall of flames.”
Officials said the blaze had been contained but not controlled, and that there was still a risk to life and property if conditions shifted.
Strong gusty south-westerly winds complicated efforts as the battle continued into last night, with 275 firefighters working to douse flames which have already burnt through 650 hectares.
A disaster appeal was launched for victims, with the Western Australia state government pitching in A$1 million (US$905,000).
Temperatures in Perth over the weekend reached 44 degrees Celsius.
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