Gusty winds and high temperatures are fuelling a bushfire, which is threatening lives and homes in Shadforth, just west of tourist town Denmark on WA’s south coast.
Officials say the fire is out of control and unpredictable. It is now moving southwest.
The South Coast Highway is closed between Happy Valley Road and Sunrise Road, and visitors have been evacuated from William Bay National Park.
The park is home to popular tourist destination Greens Pool, which is closed.
The Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) said people needed to leave the area if the way was clear and not ‘wait and see — leaving at the last minute is deadly’.
An evacuation centre has been set up at the Denmark Recreation Centre.
Peta Otway fled the fire front by escaping from her Shadforth property through her neighbour’s paddock.
“It was crazy … we unlocked gates to let sheep and chooks out,” she told the ABC. “The farmers said, ‘It’s time to go’. They showed me through their paddock … then I just sat and watched in absolute disbelief as it went crazy.”
