More homes destroyed in west Australia wildfire

More than 70 homes have been lost in a wildfire outside Australia's western city of Perth that is expected to continue burning for days. The fire had razed more than 9,000 hectares (22,200 acres) of farm and woodland in hills east of Perth by early Wednesday, authorities said. Western Australia state's Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner Darren Klemm said the number of houses destroyed had jumped to 71 overnight, and conditions would remain difficult for firefighters with no rain forecast until Sunday.

The jump was from 59 houses late Tuesday.Perth and its surroundings had been in lockdown since Sunday as a pandemic precaution, but those threatened by the fire were exempted from the pandemic stay-at-home order so they could evacuate.Many people who had fled to evacuation centers were unsure whether their homes had survived, officials said.

(Image Credit: AP)