Authorities have downgraded a bushfire in Perth’s hills from emergency level to watch and act, with firefighters saying the blaze was stationary.
Multiple aerial water bombers were sent to battle the bushfire on Friday afternoon after it had put lives and homes under threat.
The Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) changed the alert level from emergency to watch and act just before 5pm on Friday.
DFES previously announced an emergency warning just after 2:30pm on Friday, warning residents in parts of Darlington and Helena Valley it was too late to leave.
Loading…
Although the fire activity has decreased, there remained a possible threat to lives and homes, authorities warned.
The watch and act alert is in place for an area bounded by Coulston Road, Kookaburra Place, Glen Road, Victor Road and Clayton Road in parts of Darlington, Boya and Helena Valley.
Aerial support was called in to help fight the fire. (ABC News)
A number of roads have been closed, including Clayton Road from Victor Road and Victor Road from Prater Road.
Aerial vision shows the fire is burning close to buildings and power lines in the area.
DFES incident controller Tim McGrade said things were “going pretty well”, and although the fire had burned through about 27 hectares, it was “not moving much at all”.
“We’ve been pretty lucky with the wind,” Mr McGrade said.
He said there had been no reports of property damage, but some residents had lost power.
“Some major arterial power lines have been impacted, and there’s about 20 properties that have been affected,” he said.
About 100 firefighters are understood to be on the ground.
At the start of January, emergency services spent hours fighting a bushfire in a nearby area in Boya, Darlington and Helena Valley that damaged outbuildings and a gazebo.
At the time, authorities were treating the January Boya fire as a suspected arson attack, but the cause was undetermined.
Authorities said that blaze started on January 2, and was brought under control the following day after 150 crews responded.
WA Emergency InformationCheck the warning information and incident map on the official EmergencyWA website.For emergency assistance during severe weather and floods, contact the SES on 131 500.If your life is in danger call triple-zero (000).Check if roads are closed on the Main Roads WA website.Report any power outages to Western Power or Horizon Power.For all local warnings and information visit ABC Emergency and listen to ABC Local Radio on the ABC Listen app.Loading