Champion Lakes bushfire: Emergency-level warning as blaze closes Tonkin Highway & firefighters work to douse

Authorities are warning there is a threat to lives and homes as a bushfire rages in Perth’s southern suburbs.

Tonkin Highway between Ranford Road and Corfield Street has been closed in both directions as firefighters work to douse the bushfire in Champion Lakes.

The blaze was reported in bushland near Mustang Road at 3.36pm on Monday afternoon and is understood to be burning in the vicinity of Tonkin Highway.

An emergency-level warning is in place for people in the area surrounded by Verna Street, Passmore Street, Corfield Street, Eileen Street, Seaforth Avenue, Koorden Close, Lake Road and Ranford Road in Champion Lakes, Southern River and Gosnells.

“You are in danger and need to act immediately to survive,” the Department of Fire and Emergency Services has warned.

“There is a threat to lives and homes.”

The bushfire, which is not contained nor controlled, is moving in a north westerly direction.

Main Roads has closed the highway in both directions, with commuters urged to avoid the area if possible.

Dozens of families are lined up alongside Wright Lake as flames breach through bush.

One resident in Perth’s south said he received an emergency alert on his phone while up a ladder working at his property on Monday. “I saw this giant brown pool of smoke,” he said. Two water bombers and more than 40 ground crews are actively working to fight the blaze.

Caroline Mayes and her five-year-old son were anxiously watching the flames burn from a distance.

“I was driving back on Corfield Street and couldn’t get through,” the Camillo resident said.

Ms Mayes and her son, Ryder, both feared strong winds would extend the emergency zone, putting their own home at risk.

“There is only bush, it’s already in the shoreline (of Wright Lake),” Ms Mayes said.

“There’s flames and smoke everywhere.

“It all happened so quickly, it was just in one spot now it’s everywhere.

“We thought the flames were a lot further back than what it was.”

Meanwhile, people in parts of Cataby, Mimegarra, Cooljaraloo and Wedge Island were warned to be alert of ember attacks on Monday as another bushfire burned in the area.

Bushfire season officially starts in October in southern WA.

Emergency Services Minister Stephen Dawson last month warned years of low rainfall means WA is likely to experience a long an intense bushfire season.

Last year, 18 homes were destroyed in a devastating bushfire in Mariginiup. Several more homes were lost in another blaze in Parkerville just days before Christmas.