Firefighters injured, Cervantes residents told to evacuate in emergency bushfire north of Perth
Cervantes north of Perth is being evacuated due to an emergency level bushfire. (ABC News: Chris Lewis)
In short:
A town of almost 500 people is under threat of a massive bushfire north of Perth which has been burning for two days and was sparked by a car crash.
People in Cervantes have been told to evacuate immediately, with the massive blaze sending smoke billowing almost 1,000 kilometres away.
What's next?
The town of Cervantes remains under threat as emergency crews try to bring the fire under control.
An entire town north of Perth has been told to evacuate as a massive bushfire rages on that has already injured two firefighters and sent smoke billowing 1,000 kilometres away.
The fishing town of Cervantes, about 200 kilometres north of the city in the Shire of Dandaragan, has been placed under an emergency warning.
Parts of Wedge Island, Grey, Cooljarloo and Nambung to the south are also under an emergency warning.
Incident controller Leigh Bishop said the fire, which has been burning for two days through huge sections of isolated scrubland was now burning towards the Cervantes community.
"What we're gearing up potentially is for the impact of the town site into the early morning," he said on Wednesday afternoon.
"So while we have the time, we're placing an emergency warning on the town."
Dozens of firefighters are at the scene. (ABC News: Chris Lewis)
Residents have been told to leave in a northerly direction along Indian Ocean Drive towards Jurien Bay, if it is safe to do so.
An evacuation centre has been established at Jurien Bay Sports and Recreation Centre.
Mr Bishop said Wednesday had been a challenging day for crews.
"The winds have been swirling from the south with an easterly and a westerly influence," he said.
A massive smoke plume from the fire is being blown out to sea. Pictured at 5pm WST Tuesday. (Supplied: BOM)
"Crews overnight [on Tuesday night] did an incredible job, building containment lines overnight with reasonable conditions," he said
"However with the winds that we've experienced today, it has breached containment lines throughout the day."
Locals ready to leave
With the fire burning towards town, locals and visitors have been closely monitoring developments.
Resident Sam Cash said she was hopeful the situation would be brought under control.
Loading..."You're obviously weary about what's going on," she said.
"But it happens each summer, you prepare in the way you usually do.
"We're just waiting for the fireys and [the Shire of Dandaragan] to let us know what we need to do going forward."
Allan Berichon is confident the Cervantes community is well prepared. (ABC News: Chris Lewis)
Allan Berichon is based in Perth, but owns a home in the coastal town.
"We'll 100 per cent evacuate and follow whatever [authorities] suggest is the best course of action," Mr Berichon said.
"We'll get out of here if they say go."
He backed the community's ability to deal with the blaze.
"I think the locals here are very, very good at this sort of stuff," Mr Berichon said.
"They've seen it before, this isn't their first rodeo."
Firefighters injured
A firefighter injured while fighting the blaze on Tuesday was airlifted to a Perth hospital, while another is being treated for minor injuries.
St John WA confirmed one firefighter, believed to be a man in his 60s, has been taken to Fiona Stanley Hospital on Wednesday with what is understood to be non-life-threatening injuries.
A firefighter has been airlifted to Perth after being injured in a blaze near Wedge Island. (ABC News)
The man was transported by ambulance from the fire ground to a local oval in nearby Gingin, where the rescue helicopter then picked him up.
Another firefighter was treated for minor injuries at the scene.
Crash triggered blaze
The fire was sparked by a car crash on Monday morning, which caused the surrounding bushland to ignite.
After an initial downgrade, the blaze again reached an emergency warning level at about midday on Wednesday.
The bushfire has been moving in multiple directions due to variable winds, and is neither contained nor controlled.
About 200 firefighters are at the scene, with aerial support also sent to assist the crews on the ground.
The blaze has so far burnt through almost 40,000 hectares of land.
A smoke alert has also been issued for a huge stretch of Western Australia, with smoke from the fire stretching 1,000 kilometres north to Coral Bay.