Hundreds of firefighters are battling a massive bushfire threatening multiple communities north of Perth.
The fire is moving in a north-westerly direction towards the coastal fishing towns of Cervantes, Wedge and Grey.
The blaze was started by a fatal crash on Monday in Mimegarra, north-east of Lancelin, and has since burnt through more than 68,248 hectares of land, with a perimeter spanning 48 kilometres.
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Wedge Island residents have been directed to take shelter, while locals in parts of Grey, Cooljarloo and Nambung have been told it is too late to leave.
Despite emergency warnings, 37 people in the towns of Wedge and Grey chose to stay, with authorities asking them to seek shelter in order to survive as flames and thick smoke smother the region.
“Got out this morning, hoping the roads weren’t going to close,” Jade Stanley-Hunt told 9News
“Sort of end of days I suppose. It did give you that ghost town sort of feel.”
People in parts of Nambung and Cervantes, including the Cervantes townsite in the Shire of Dandaragan, were told to leave if they were unprepared.
The evacuation centre at Jurien Bay Sport and Recreation Centre was closed as authorities prepared for a dangerous night.
About 200 career and volunteer firefighters were actively battling the blaze from the ground with aerial attacks – which had been bolstered by National and New South Wales air tankers – suspended until first light.
The crews were working with machinery to build containment lines around the Cervantes townsite but there were concerns the windy conditions could spur the fire further.
Almost 600 homes and businesses in Cervantes and Nambung are without power earlier in the night.
Western Power crews were set to restore electricity when they could gain access to the affected areas as there are a number of road closures currently in place.
Indian Ocean Drive is closed all the way from Nilgen down to Jurien Bay, with cars travelling north being redirected to Brand Highway.
However, the only other path to the north-west of the state may soon also find itself under threat, with authorities warning the fire is heading west of Brand Highway.
Cervantes Primary School will remain closed on Friday due to the bushfire, with parents and carers asked to keep their children home.
Nambung National Park has also closed, which includes the Pinnacles Desert Discovery, Hangover Bay, Kangaroo Point, Wedge, Grey and Wanagarren Campground.
At least two firefighters have been injured while fighting the blaze this week, including a volunteer who was flown to hospital in a stable condition yesterday afternoon and another firefighter who was treated for minor injuries.
