Wildfire emergency prompts evacuation warnings in Western Australia
Australia is currently facing a high-risk bushfire season due to the onset of an El Nino weather event, which is associated with extreme occurrences such as wildfires, cyclones and droughts.
The emergency alert came amid a heatwave warning in place on Saturday for many parts of the state that lifted the risk of bushfire outbreaks. / Photo: AFP
Residents in the state of Western Australia were urged to evacuate their homes as a bushfire burned out of control near the state's capital Perth, amid soaring temperatures.
More than 40 bushfires were burning on Saturday in Australia's largest state, with residents in the Shire of Chittering, about 60 kilometres (37 miles) north of Perth, at risk from the uncontained blaze, according to fire authorities.
Australia is in the grips of a high-risk bushfire season after the onset of an El Nino weather event, associated with extreme events such as wildfires, cyclones and droughts.
"You are in danger and need to act immediately to survive. There is a threat to lives and homes," the state's Department of Fire and Emergency Services said on its website regarding the fire in Chittering, a rural area home to around 6,000 people.
The emergency alert came amid a heatwave warning in place on Saturday for many parts of the state that lifted the risk of bushfire outbreaks. In Perth, a maximum temperature of 41 degrees Celsius (105.8 degrees Fahrenheit) was forecast, almost 10 degrees above the city's average January maximum, according to data from the nation's weather forecaster.
Australia's last two fire seasons have been quiet compared with the catastrophic 2019-2020 "Black Summer" of bushfires that killed 33 people.
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