Perth bushfire sparked by crow flying into power lines

An out-of-control bushfire that tore through more than two hectares of land was sparked by a bird flying into power lines.

The blaze began in the Perth suburb of Gwelup on Sunday afternoon before making its way to the nearby suburbs of Karrinyup, Spiderlily Mews, and surrounds.

The wall of fire threatened homes and residents were evacuated before 58,000 litres of water was dropped onto the fire from water bombers.

A huge bushfire that tore through 2.6 hectares of land in Gwelup, Perth was sparked by a bird flying into a power line. — A huge bushfire that tore through 2.6 hectares of land in Perth was sparked by a bird flying into a power line. (9News)

Hannah Fastyn and her family fled their home in Karrinyup about 5.30pm on Sunday and later realised just how close the flames got.

“When you look at the CCTV and see how fast the fire spread, that’s the most scary part of all – you’ve got seconds and in those seconds you’re making life or death decisions,” she told 9News.

Linda D’Vaz and her husband defended their Spiderlily Mews home with a hose, and it took 75 firefighters to eventually bring it under control.

“Probably a little shocked, you don’t want your house under threat but we were ready to evacuate. The firies were amazing, they did a phenomenal job,” she said.

One resident lost a fence but all homes were saved, along with Lake Karrinyup Country Club.

An out-of-control bushfire that tore through more than two hectares of land was sparked by a bird flying into power lines in the Perth suburb of Gwelup on Sunday, February 18, 2024. (9News)

Footage from one resident's security camera shows how close the fire came to their Perth home. — Footage from one resident’s security camera shows how close the fire came to their home. (9News)

A flood bridge in Gwelup was scorched and is still standing but no longer usable.

There were highs of 40 degrees in Perth at the weekend, and yesterday the Department of Fire and Emergency Services in Western Australia confirmed the cause of the blaze.

“The bird hit the power line. It caused a short to the power line, which caused sparks and with those extreme heat conditions it caused the fire,” Danny Mosconi from DFES said.