The remains of two men were found by authorities searching burnt-out buildings in the historic timber milling town of Yarloop, 120 km (75 miles) south of the capital, Perth, which was destroyed by the fire on Thursday, police confirmed.
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“They are bracing themselves for strong winds which could fan the flames further”.
Western Power said electricity had been cut to 7,000 homes, amid unconfirmed reports hundreds of power poles had been destroyed.
Residents were evacuated to nearby Pinjarra where they’re waiting for emergency service officials to tell them when they can return to whatever’s left of their homes.
Image copyright Map Australia’s severe bushfires Image copyright AP Image caption The Waroona fire burns alongside a road in Western Australia What causes the fires?
Dash cam footage from a Western Australian Parks and Wildlife truck has provided a front-line view of the ferocious bushfire that has killed two people and destroyed 143 properties.
The first town to be ravaged by the fires was Yarloop which lies south of Perth and is home to around 500 residents.
“It appears that we’ve lost around 95 houses, a number of structures within the town site including some of the historical buildings”.
Mr Gregson said that he was hopeful that the missing people “got out early and heeded the warnings”.
The Country Fire Service said “very hazardous fire weather conditions” were predicted in areas including Northwest Pastoral, Eastern Eyre Peninsula, Mid North, Mount Lofty Ranges, Yorke Peninsula, Riverland, Murraylands and Lower South East.
Yarloop Bowling Club president Ron Sackville told Western Australian Today that the fire “ripped” through the main street of the town, which has a population of 545.
“However, despite our best endeavours, these conditions have meant that the fire has doubled in size and is now around 50,000 hectares”.
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But the department said residents in the shires of Harvey – which includes Yarloop – and Waroona had been under emergency warnings since 10.25pm on Wednesday evening.
