A potentially dangerous fire has broken out at a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) base as soaring temperatures and windy conditions cause havoc for firefighters north of Perth.
The blaze broke out on Saturday afternoon near the entrance to RAAF Base Gingin, a facility primarily used for pilot training, as large parts of the state faced heatwave warnings.
A watch and act alert was issued for the base and areas to its north and east amid concern about changing conditions and homes in the area.
The blaze was one of four significant fires in the Wanneroo and Chittering areas, where temperatures cracked 41 degrees Celsius shortly after 2 p.m.
Homes and lives remain under threat from an uncontrolled blaze near Chittering, population 1,000, after it burned through 120 hectares in a matter of hours on Saturday morning.
An emergency warning told those nearby they were in danger and needed to act immediately to survive.
The warning area expanded on Saturday afternoon to include residential parts of the town and the outskirts of the more heavily populated Lower Chittering.
“There is a threat to lives and homes,” the warning said.
“Do not wait and see—leaving at the last minute could put your life in danger.”
Watch and act alerts and advice alerts are also active for parts further west of the township, including part of the Brand Highway.
Residents sheltering in place are advised to choose a room with two exits and water such as a kitchen or laundry.
More than 100 career and volunteer firefighters are on the ground actively fighting the fire backed by aerial support.
A watch and act alert has also been issued for a west-moving bushfire north of Chittering that could threaten rural properties in Bindoon and Mooliabeenee.
Another blaze was sparked in the Gnangara-Moore River State Forest near Pinjar.
Several fires are burning at advice level across Western Australia, including in the coal-mining town of Collie where 80 firefighters have contained a blaze that started on Thursday.
Perth had reached 40.7C just before 2:30 p.m., marking the city’s first 40C day in almost two years.
In Marble Bar, where birds have been dropping dead from trees in recent days, the mercury topped 47.7C, marking the Pilbara town’s 25th consecutive 43C-plus day.
Its record stands at 27 days in a row, set in early 2005.
