Firefighters will continue battling multiple fires in Western Australia on Sunday, after lightning strikes sparked several blazes south of Perth.
Key points:
- An emergency warning is in place for the southern part of Serpentine and the northern part of the Shire of Murray
- An evacuation centre has been set up at the Murray Aquatic Centre
- People can also seek refuge at the Serpentine Jarrahdale Community Recreation Centre
Strong winds and high temperatures created challenging conditions for firefighters who at one stage were dealing with four emergency warnings on Saturday, which saw parts of the Kwinana Freeway close and a playground go up in flames.
An emergency warning remained in place on Sunday morning for the southern part of Serpentine and northern parts of the Shire of Murray, south of Perth.
The warning is in place for people bounded by Scarp Road to Day Road and east to Ronan Road.
The western boundary includes the Serpentine Reservoir, and the southern boundary extends to the intersection of Scarp Road and Keysbrook Road, excluding the Jarrahdale town site.
The bushfire is moving in a south westerly direction and is not contained or controlled.
Two evacuation centres have been set up at:
- Murray Aquatic Centre on Camp Road, Pinjarra
- Serpentine Jarrahdale Community Recreation Centre in Byford
Several roads have been closed including Kingsbury Drive from the South Western Highway to Jarrahdale Road, and Albany Highway between Jarrahdale Road and North Bannister Wandering Road.
Threat downgraded for fire burning near Mandurah
A blaze burning east of Mandurah has burnt through more than 270 hectares of bushland.
The threat level has been downgraded to watch and act, for people west of Kwinana Freeway to Peaceful Waters Drive and Hougham Road, and north of Tranquil Retreat in parts of Barragup, Nambeelup and Stake HIll and the Shire of Murray.
Yesterday, Incident Controller Ray Buchan said there were 65 fire trucks on the scene as more than 100 firefighters battled the blaze, which forced the closure of parts of the Kwinana Freeway.
The freeway and Lakes Road have now reopened.
He said they had managed to slow the rate of the spread but strong winds, low humidity and high temperatures were creating “challenging” conditions.
“There has been high rates of spread and fast-moving fires due to the wind that has been driving the fires,” he said.
A watch and act is also in place for a nearby blaze still burning in parts of North Dandalup, Myara and Whittaker.
Authorities remain on high alert after issuing advice warnings for several other blazes around the state.
It is believed many were caused by lightning strikes on Friday night and Saturday morning.
The clean-up will begin on Sunday in some areas such as Piara Waters in the City of Armadale where a playground was engulfed in flames right next to homes on Saturday afternoon.
Visit Emergency WA, call DFES on 133 337, follow DFES on Twitter or listen to ABC Local Radio to stay up to date.