A fast-moving blaze has destroyed three homes in Perth’s eastern hills with WA’s fire commissioner describing conditions as above catastrophic.

December 22, 2023

Three homes have been destroyed by a fast-moving bushfire in Perth’s hilly eastern fringe, with owners returning to smoking ruins.

Confirmation of losses from the blaze at Parkerville came as fresh emergency warnings were issued on Friday.

Authorities said fires were burning northeast of Mandurah and in Perth’s east with both out of control, unpredictable and moving fast.

The earlier Parkerville blaze pushed fire crews to their limits as it raced through the semi-rural hamlet before being downgraded late on Thursday.

Local resident Mark Norton lost his home of 18 years in the blaze, and returned to his property on Friday to inspect what was left.

“Looking inside, there are no floors, everything has dropped through, there’s nothing recognisable … half the walls have fallen through,” he said.

“It doesn’t look like my own house.”

Mr Norton said he had seconds to evacuate as the fire raced towards him.

“There was no time to grab anything by the time I smelt the fire … I knew I had like moments or seconds to go,” he said.

“You grab a box of photographs and your back-ups and that’s the only thing you have time for.”

Premier Roger Cook said it was “horrible” news so close to Christmas for the families that had lost homes, possessions and animals.

“Watching those flames engulf those homes is absolutely heartbreaking and distressing,” he told reporters from the fireground.

“On behalf of the people of Western Australia, I want you to know that our hearts are with you.”

It was one of four emergency-level blazes in the state’s south that were downgraded by Friday morning.

“I’m so thankful for the fact that there was no loss of human life but I don’t think we can underestimate the challenging conditions in which (firefighters) worked – the terrain, the strong winds, the high temperatures,” Mr Cook said.

Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner Darren Klemm said it had been a day above catastrophic level, with intense fire behaviour.

“We’ve had a really successful night overnight once again, with challenging strong easterly winds and low humidity, that’s seen many of the warnings … we’ve got across the state being reduced,” he said.

Fire crews are now focused on mopping up spot fires so evacuated residents can return to their homes.

Mr Klemm said he met with fire commissioners in other states on Friday and did not request interstate teams as it wasn’t necessary at this time.

But, he warned the high fire risk remained.

“There is still some difficult weather ahead of us as we head into Sunday, Monday and Tuesday,” he said.

The Parkerville blaze started accidentally on Thursday when a tree fell onto powerlines. The area is a patchwork of paddocks and wooded properties sprawled across hilly terrain.

Firefighters were also battling blazes in the Shire of Toodyay, 90km northeast of Perth, and the Shire of Dardanup, 180km south of the city.

The Toodyay fire, in the Wheatbelt region, started on Wednesday afternoon and has burned through about 165 hectares.

Another fire was burning near the town of Manjimup in the state’s southwest.

The fire has burned about 2850 hectares with reports of damage to sheds, fences and farm equipment.