On Sunday, as a violent blaze raged out of control, residents in the southwest of Western Australia were placed on high alert.
Dozens of rescue personnel battled a wall of flames near Waroona, destroying at least one house.
The fire is being investigated by authorities as suspicious.
The Sinclair family’s 30-year vacation home was lost.
Although it was in the fire line, the property of their neighbors along Nanga Bush Road was spared.
Renowned wildfire scientist Kingsley Dixon owns the land.
Mike Walmsley, president of Waroona Shire, described the state of affairs as dire.
“It’s peoples lives, it’s their memories,” he stated. Almost two thousand hectares have been destroyed by the uncontrolled fire.
Locals had been waiting to escape. To get ready, Emily Taffe claimed to have shifted animals.
“Last night we moved the horses out at about 10 and I’ve just picked up Mum because we’re just moving some more of them,” she explained.
Two hundred and fifty firemen are fighting the fire both on the ground and in the air.
For the locals, the fierce flames serve as a terrifying reminder.
“There will be a level of anxiety, this town has been through this a few times, we had one in 2015, we had a bad one in 2016.
” stated Walmsley. On Saturday, just after 12 p.m., the fire started on Lane Poole Reserve.
Fearing that it is suspicious, the arson squad was dispatched.
There’s a $25,000 prize available to find the offender. Several locals sought refuge at an evacuation hub Friday night.
On Sunday, the Murray Aquatic and Recreation Center remained open for locals who hadn’t left the area.
