Bushfire kills two in Australias south west

Two people have been killed and more than 140 buildings have been destroyed by a bushfire that continues to burn out of control in Western Australia, local media reported on Sunday (January 10).

The remains of two men were found by authorities searching burnt-out buildings in the historic timber milling town of Yarloop, 120 km (75 miles) south of the state capital, Perth, which was destroyed by the fire on Thursday (January 10), police confirmed.

The men, both believed to be in their 70s, have been identified. Local residents were struggling to come to terms with the fatalities.

A state of emergency has been declared and residents evacuated from five nearby towns in the major beef and dairy farming area. Dairy farmers near the fire have been forced to dump thousands of liters of milk since Thursday (January 8) as road closures prevent tankers from being able to reach farms and power cuts prevent production.

“We’ve got nothing, I’m just worried about the animals now and my kids, you know,” added another Yarloop man.

Holiday makers in nearby coastal resorts have also been evacuated by ferry as exit roads remain cut and damaged by the fire.

The fire, ignited by a lightening strike on Wednesday (January 6), has now burned through some 72,000 hectares of land, is uncontained and has a 226 km perimeter.

Around 60 firefighters have flown in from New South Wales to relieve fatigued local crews, local media reported.

“As firefighters we understand the pressures and the workload that these guys and girls have been under the last couple of days battling these fires,” a rural fire services representative told reporters on Sunday.

Another large fire in the state’s south east, west of the town of Esperance, is also burning out of control and threatening homes.

Wildfires are an annual summer event in Australia, but rising temperatures have prompted some scientists to warn that climate change could increase the length and intensity of the summer fire season.

Four people were killed in a series of bushfires sparked by lightning in Western Australia in November and more than 100 homes were destroyed in fires on Christmas Day in Victoria. Australia experienced its fifth hottest year on record in 2015, according to the Bureau of Meteorology, which has been keeping statistics since 1910.