NSW firefighters upgrade Gospers Mountain blaze to emergency as police launch investigation into fires in regional Victoria

This article is more than 9 months old

This article is more than 9 months old

An out-of-control bushfire has burnt through more than 11,000 hectares of land north of Perth with residents urged to leave while they still can.

It comes as New South Wales firefighters upgraded the Gospers Mountain blaze to an emergency on Saturday afternoon, and police launched an investigation into a spate of fires in regional Victoria.

The Perth blaze was moving west after an early morning wind change, the Department of Fire and Emergency Services said on Saturday.

“People in Guilderton should leave now in a northerly direction if the way is clear as fire is approaching the area,” DFES said.

The emergency warning had also been extended to residents in Two Rocks, Neergabby, Gabbadah, Seabird, Wanerie, Breton Bay, Yeal, Beermullah, Muckenburra, northern parts of Yanchep, Wilbinga, Caraban, and Woodridge.

Australia's bushfire crisis: how long are the fires and smoke expected to last? Read more

It was not safe for people in Seatrees and Breakwater Estates to leave and people there should take shelter, DFES said.

A “watch and act” alert was in place for other parts of Yanchep and Eglington.

A home and service station had been destroyed in Yanchep. The Vaz family shared their devastation at losing the service station on social media.

“We are anxiously waiting to be able to see the remains of what once was the backbone of Yanchep,” they wrote. “For three generations, we were doing our part as a local business to help build Yanchep to what it is today.”

Some other outbuildings had also been damaged, the fire service said.

Firefighters desperately need a drop in temperatures but the mercury is set to hit the low-40s in the area over the weekend.

Temporary evacuation centres had been set up at Gumblossom Community Centre in Quinns Rocks and Granville Civic Centre in Gingin.

Several roads, schools, childcare centres and the Yanchep national park had been closed, while hundreds of Western Power customers were experiencing outages.

An all-clear had been given for residents in the northern parts of Roleystone in the City of Armadale after a bushfire there was extinguished.

In regional Victoria, a spate of grassfires razed farmland and destroyed a shed, with police investigating the blazes, which started in “quick succession”.

Two fires in the vicinity of Lanmore Road and Elmore-Barnadown Road at Avonmore, near Ballarat, started about 3.30pm on Friday. Those fires ripped through a large area of farmland and destroyed a hay shed, Victoria police confirmed on Saturday.

The same night firefighters were called to six blazes between Carag Carag and Toolleen from 10.30pm.

“It is believed all the above fires occurred in quick succession from about 10.30pm onward,” a police spokesman said.

An hour later another fire was reported at Axedale, on the Axedale-Toolleen Road near the McIvor Highway. About 1.10am on Saturday another blaze was reported at Kangaroo Flat, which began in bushland.

A vehicle, similar to an XD model Ford ute, with a light bar may be key, with police believing it was spotted near the scene of one of the blazes. The cause of the blazes was unknown but police were investigating.

In NSW, there were more than 100 fires still burning on Saturday morning. The Gospers Mountain fire was upgraded to an emergency level and the Green Wattle Creek fire on the south coast was upgraded again to a “watch and act” level on Saturday.

Firefighters were taking advantage of milder conditions to conduct extensive backburning operations and strengthen containment lines at the Gospers Mountain fire, where several large blazes had combined on the Central Coast. On Saturday afternoon, fire activity increased, moving north east to Mt Wilson. People in Mt Wilson were told it was too late to leave.

The RFS had warned of increased smoke from backburning on the Bells Line of Road, which was closed between Darling Causeway and the Mt Wilson/Mt Irvine intersection.

Further tactical backburning operations were planned for Saturday evening at the Wolgan Gap for about 2.5km north to the valley floor. Wolgan Road was to be closed for up to 48 hours.

The RFS said the Green Wattle Creek fire was still burning on both sides of Lake Burragorang, and fire activity was increasing as it moved in an easterly direction towards Balmoral. Backburning activity planned for the Tuglow area would increase smoke, the RFS said.

The Ruined Castle fire in the Blue Mountains was also upgraded to a “watch and act” on Saturday afternoon.

The NSW RFS said 744 homes, 51 facilities and 1,659 outbuildings had been destroyed in the NSW crisis so far. Another 280 homes had been damaged but more than 6,000 had been saved.