Multiple blazes across southern Western Australia are testing firefighters, with authorities warning there are more “difficult” days ahead.

December 23, 2023

Firefighters are battling multiple blazes across southern Western Australia as authorities warn of more “difficult” days ahead.

Seven emergency-level blazes have destroyed homes and torn through bushland, rural properties and suburbs in Perth’s fringes in the past three days.

Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner Darren Klemm said strong, gusty winds had pushed the blazes to catastrophic levels.

He warned the threat would remain through the Christmas holiday.

“There is still some difficult weather ahead of us as we head into Sunday, Monday and Tuesday,” he told reporters from the Parkerville fireground on Friday.

A blaze in Perth’s hilly east in the suburb of Parkerville started accidentally on Thursday when a tree fell onto powerlines and razed three homes.

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.”

Firefighters were also battling blazes near the town of Toodyay, 90km northeast of Perth, and near Bunbury, 180km to the south.

Another fire burning near the town of Manjimup, in the state’s southwest, has burned about 2850 hectares in dense old-growth forest.

Residents in the fishing town of Lancelin, 126km north of Perth, were forced to flee to the tiny town’s jetty late Wednesday as a blaze that started on a golf course bore down on them.

Two more blazes reached emergency level late on Friday – one in Perth’s east, the other northeast of Mandurah.