Firefighters in Western Australia are facing more difficult conditions as they fight two bushfires on the outskirts of Perth ahead of a weekend of extreme fire danger. Two fast moving blazes in suburbs of Bullsbrook and Kenwick had threatened lives and homes spreading smoke across the city.
00:00Road blockades like this one right behind us have secured most of the fire ground here in the northeast of Perth.
00:07Only essential vehicles are being let through at the moment.
00:10Now, a bushfire here has raised about 350 hectares of land, mostly through the Wallyunga National Park.
00:18This is a semi-rural area, but we have seen the bushfire push up against the boundary of many private properties here.
00:25Authorities say they've seen ember attacks jumping into paddocks and backyards here.
00:30Though fortunately, we haven't heard any confirmed reports, at least not just yet, of any homes or properties which have been lost to these bushfires over the past day.
00:39Though firefighters are still very much on the front lines, on the scene, attempting to quell these flames before we reach the weekend when we are expecting temperatures to ratchet up to the high 30s.
00:50Well, in terms of this place here, the Wallyunga National Park authorities say they believe at this stage it was not intentionally lit.
00:57But there is another fire, the one in Kenwick, just east of Perth, which is much closer to suburbia.
01:03Authorities are treating that fire as suspicious, a potential arson attack.
01:08Though details are scarce at the moment, but we can expect more details to unfold as that investigation continues.
01:15But I'll take you to the scenes from Kenwick yesterday.
01:18The scenes were very dramatic. We saw fireballs igniting right across the road from homes and other buildings.
01:25Lives very much at risk there, smoke enveloping the entire residential area.
01:31Now, looking at the scenes there today, it does seem much calmer.
01:35But authorities, again, urging caution because the situation can change again in an instant.
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