Hundreds flee as wildfires raze 40 homes
Two major blazes burned out of control overnight after breaking out on Tuesday afternoon in a wheat and sheep farming district north of the coastal city of Perth, forcing the evacuation of the township of Toodyay and threatening a second town, Badgingarra, farther north.
The two fires scorched a combined total of more than 33,000 acres (13,400 hectares) of forest and farmland before cooler conditions yesterday helped hundreds of firefighters contain them.