An out-of-control bushfire has burnt through more than 11,000 hectares of land north of Perth with residents urged to leave while they still can.
The blaze is moving “slowly” west after an early morning wind change, but remains out of control and unpredictable, the Department of Fire and Emergency Services said on Saturday.
“People in Guilderton should leave now in a northerly direction if the way is clear as fire is approaching the area,” DFES said on Saturday .
The emergency warning has also been extended to residents in Two Rocks, Neergabby, Gabbadah, Seabird, Wanerie, Breton Bay, Yeal, Beermullah, Muckenburra, northern parts of Yanchep, Wilbinga, Caraban, and Woodridge.
It is not safe for people in Seatrees and Breakwater Estates to leave and people there should take shelter, DFES said.
A ‘watch and act’ alert is in place for other parts of Yanchep and Eglington.
The fire has burnt more than 11,000 hectares of land in the area and so far a home and service station have been destroyed in Yanchep.
The warnings comes as temperatures are forecast to once again reach 41C in the city.
The Vaz family shared their devastation at losing the service station on social media.
“We are anxiously waiting to be able to see the remains of what once was the backbone of Yanchep,” they wrote.
“For three generations, we were doing our part as a local business to help build Yanchep to what it is today.”
Some other outbuildings have also been damaged, the fire service says.
Firefighters desperately need a drop in temperatures but the mercury is set to hit the low-40s in the area over the weekend.
Temporary evacuation centres have been set up at Gumblossom Community Centre in Quinns Rocks and Granville Civic Centre in Gingin.
Several roads, schools, childcare centres and the Yanchep National Park have been closed, while hundreds of Western Power customers experienced outages.
The utility updated customers on Saturday morning, saying all but 12 customers’ power had been restored.
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