Wildfires tore across the outskirts of an Australian city on Sunday, destroying at least 35 homes, authorities said. One firefighter was reportedly injured. Two fires fanned by hot summer winds were burning in forested areas to the north and southeast of Perth in Western Australia state, the Fire and Emergency Services Authority said. At Roleystone and the nearby community of Kelmscott, residents were told to evacuate from the path of a fire that erupted after noon and had claimed 35 homes and was threatening more, the authority said. Police closed roads leading to threatened areas, preventing residents who were not at home when the fire flared from returning because it was too dangerous.
The fires were expected to burn through Sunday night, and shelters were set up for hundreds of people fleeing their homes.