Donnybrook bushfire emergency in its third day with 4k hectares burned

A massive blaze continues to threaten lives, homes and farms around a West Australian tourist town, stretching volunteers to the limit.

Emergency bushfire alerts remain in place for a massive blaze that continues to threaten lives, homes and farms around a West Australian tourist town.

The fire at Donnybrook, about 200km south of Perth, has now burned through 4871ha of bushland and, as of Thursday morning, remains the subject of a Department of Fire and Emergency Services emergency alert.

This means the fire continues to pose a risk to lives and homes; it has been at this alert level on-and-off since breaking out on Tuesday morning, being downgraded to watch and act for periods of time before flaring up again.

As of Thursday morning, 4871ha of bushland has been burned near Donnybrook.

It’s still not contained or controlled and is moving in a north and northwesterly direction.

As of 9am on Thursday, 57 firefighters from multiple agencies were on the scene battling the blaze, supported by more than 60 personnel from agencies including DFES, WA Police, St John Ambulance, and utility Western Power.

Emergency alerts for the Donnybrook fire have been on-and-off for the last three days.

A summer storm cell, which brought more than 3000 dry lightning strikes to WA on Monday night, is believed to be the cause of the fire.

Almost all fire brigades in the state’s South West have been asked to provide whatever crews and trucks they can spare.

Many volunteer firefighters are on their second or third shifts to help fight the blaze.

“A lot of vollies are on their second or third shifts in order to try to contain these fires,” a Facebook post from the Dunsborough Volunteer Bushfire Brigade read.

“Most of the fires have been contained, but there are still a few that are large and ugly and require a lot of work.

“If you see a fire crew pulling up at a servo for fuel, they would really appreciate a coffee or a few words of support.”

A community meeting will be held on Thursday afternoon at the Donnybrook Recreation Centre, where an evacuation centre has also been set up.