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The wildfires blaze around the township of Toodyay

Nearly 40 homes have been razed in wildfires tearing through farming areas north of the Western Australian capital, Perth.

State Premier Colin Barnett declared a natural disaster, freeing up emergency funds for those in need.

The blazes have consumed about 13,400 hectares (33,000 acres) of land.

Wildfires are common during the summer, and experts had warned that this year’s fires could be particularly bad after one of the warmest winters on record.

Some parts of the country have also been suffering from years of drought, making them more susceptible to fire damage.

Two major blazes broke out on Tuesday afternoon local time in a wheat- and sheep-farming district, forcing the evacuation of Toodyay, a township, and threatening a second town, Badgingarra, further north.

Dead livestock

The state Fire and Emergency Services Authority (Fesa) said at least 37 houses had been destroyed.

Fesa spokesman Allen Gale said: “The people directly affected by the fire, obviously, want to get back to their properties, but the area is very unsafe.”

Many homes were destroyed in Toodyay, about 80 km (50 miles) north-east of Perth, where hundreds of firefighters were at work.

Two firefighters were treated for smoke inhalation and a third was treated for a heat-related illness. Farmers also reported livestock dying.

“It’s a devastating fire with great destruction,” the state premier told media.

Cooler conditions and water-bombing helicopters were expected to control the fires on Wednesday.

Investigators believe falling power lines sparked the Toodyay blaze, reported the West Australian newspaper.

Australia is still recovering from “Black Saturday” in February, when 173 people died and more than 2,000 homes were lost in the state of Victoria in the country’s worst natural disaster of modern times.

In the aftermath of “Black Saturday”, officials issued a new level of “catastrophic” fire warning.

Parts of Western Australia were given this “catastrophic” rating earlier on Wednesday.
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It has been a horror 24 hours on the roads, with six deaths recorded before the official holiday road period began.

The road toll for the year to date is now 376 - 11 more than recorded for all of 2008.

Six people died in five crashes on the roads in the 22 hours before the start of the official holiday road toll period, which began at 4pm on Christmas Eve.

The run of crashes began in Wellington on Wednesday night when an elderly woman died after her vehicle crashed into a power pole.

In the latest crash, two men died after their vehicle hit a power pole near Tikitiki, on the East Cape.

The police say the driver lost control of the four wheel drive vehicle on a moderate right-hand bend on Rangitukia Road just before 1pm on Thursday afternoon.

One of the two passengers sustained moderate injuries and was taken to Gisborne Hospital.

The police say risky behaviour is largely behind the deadly run of crashes.

National Road Policing Manager Superintendent Paula Rose told Checkpoint driving conditions were perfect on Thursday, but risky behaviour was a factor in many of the crashes.

She says police will be putting in long hours to keep the holiday toll to a minimum.

“The sad reality is people will die over the next few days and everybody is involved in keeping that crash rate as low as possible.”

Last year, 25 people died over the 11-day holiday period, which ends on 5 January.
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