Australia burns, scores evacuated

Flames from a bushfire illuminate the night in Roleystone, near Perth. Fire authorities said that bushfires around Perth had destroyed more than 40 properties and at least one firefighter had been injured battling the blazes. No serious injuries or deaths have been reported and hundreds of locals spent the night in emergency shelters. Photo: Reuters
Flames from a bushfire illuminate the night in Roleystone, near Perth. Fire authorities said that bushfires around Perth had destroyed more than 40 properties and at least one firefighter had been injured battling the blazes. No serious injuries or deaths have been reported and hundreds of locals spent the night in emergency shelters. Photo: Reuters
Gosnell bushfire brigade battles a fire at the rear of a house in the Perth, Australia. A wildfire tore across the outskirts of an Australian city, destroying dozens of homes, leaving one firefighter injured and several people treated for smoke inhalation. Photo: Reuters
A firefighting helicopter drops water over a bushfire near residential houses in Roleystone, near Perth. Fire authorities said that bushfires around Perth had destroyed more than 40 properties and at least one firefighter had been injured battling the blazes. No serious injuries or deaths have been reported and hundreds of locals spent the night in emergency shelters. Photo: Reuters
Houses burn behind trees during a bushfire in Roleystone, near Perth. Fire authorities in Western Australia that bushfires around Perth had destroyed more than 40 properties and at least one firefighter had been injured battling the blazes. No serious injuries or deaths have been reported and hundreds of locals spent the night in emergency shelters. Photo: Reuters
Gosnell bushfire brigade battles a fire at the rear of a house in the Perth, Australia. A wildfire tore across the outskirts of an Australian city, destroying dozens of homes, leaving one firefighter injured and several people treated for smoke inhalation. Photo: AP
An aerial view shows a house caught in the flames of a bushfire near Perth in this still image taken from video. Fire authorities said that bushfires around Perth had destroyed more than 40 properties and at least one firefighter had been injured battling the blazes. No serious injuries or deaths have been reported and hundreds of locals spent the night in emergency shelters. Photo: Reuters
A bushfire burns close to a vineyard in Roleystone, near Perth. Fire authorities in Western Australia said that bushfires around Perth had destroyed more than 40 properties and at least one firefighter had been injured battling the blazes. No serious injuries or deaths have been reported and hundreds of locals spent the night in emergency shelters. Photo: Reuters
Gosnell bushfire brigade battles a fire at the rear of a house in the Perth, Australia. A wildfire tore across the outskirts of an Australian city, destroying dozens of homes, leaving one firefighter injured and several people treated for smoke inhalation. Photo: AP

Published Feb 7, 2011

Firefighters battled two wildfires in Australia, water bombing them from above as they tried to stop their spread. One on the outskirts of Perth destroyed at least 40 homes and left a firefighter injured. The two blazes have razed 1 600 hectares of forested land to the north and southeast of Perth since Saturday. Several people were treated for smoke inhalation.

One fire in Swan Valley has largely been brought under control, but another in the communities of Roleystone and Kelmscott remained unpredictable in pockets, according to the authority.