Donnybrook bushfire suspicious
A fire that threatened homes and lives near Donnybrook today is thought to have been deliberately lit.
Residents along Miller and Meotti roads in Donnybrook, 30 minutes from Bunbury, were forced to flee their homes this afternoon as the fire raged towards them.
It is believed up to 50 homes in the rural-residential area, to the north of the Donnybrook town site, were under threat.
Shire of Donnybrook-Balingup chief executive John Attwood said residents were bracing for a long and nervous night with “erratic” winds forecast.
“Obviously we don’t know which direction the fire might take during the night,” Mr Attwood said.
“Looking at the wind forecast it’s the same as it was Thursday night, which is a bit erratic.”
Mr Attwood said people who could not return to their homes tonight would be offered accommodation at the local recreation centre.
The Department of Fire and Emergency Services declared a bushfire emergency this afternoon but downgraded the alert to a Watch and Act a short time ago.
DFES said the alert had been downgraded because the fire had now passed through the area and was burning toward the Donnybrook Forest block.
There was still a possible threat to lives and homes because conditions were changing.
The bushfire is moving at a moderate speed in a north westerly direction.
It is out of control and unpredictable.
Burning embers are likely to be blown around the area. Spot fires are starting ahead of the fire.
A Donnybrook resident, who did not wish to be named, said earlier today she was forced to evacuate her Hardy Place home just before 3pm.
Irishtown Road residents wait at a police road block.
“I’m a nervous wreck,” she said. “I’m sitting around the corner at my Mum’s.
“I couldn’t see my house any more and the police said we all had to get out.
“I’m just hoping our house is going to be OK.”
The woman said she lived with her husband, who was in Perth.
She said she heard someone calling for help just before she evacuated.
“I went and looked to see what was going and then saw flames and smoke,” she said. “Then all the fire engines came.”
The Shire of Donnybrook-Balingup has up to 400 registered volunteer fire-fighters.
Mr Attwood said more than 100 were battling the blaze alongside DFES and Department of Parks and Wildlife crews.
Fire-fighters on the ground were being assisted by fixed-wing water bombers and helitacs.
The Department of Fire and Emergency Services says residents in the eastern side of the town in Miller and Meotti roads need to act immediately to survive.
Lives and property in those streets are in danger.
DFES advised residents to shelter inside a room with water and two exits, such as a kitchen or laundry.
"If your home catches on fire and the conditions inside become unbearable, you need to get out and go to an area that has already been burnt," DFES said.
Several homes in Miller Road and Meotti Road are under threat.
The fire started south of Irishtown Road and west of Hardy Place.
It is burning north of Irishtown Road in an area bounded by Miller Road and Meotti Road.
The bushfire is moving fast in a northerly direction.
It is out of control and unpredictable.
Irishtown Road has been closed.
Gingin
A fire which started at about 9.57am today near Red Gully Road in Gingin is posing a possible threat to lives and homes.
The blaze is burning on both sides of Red Gully Road, approximately 140km north of Perth.
Several firefighting units including aerial support crew are at the scene of the blaze.
