SYDNEY, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- The bushfire at east of Perth, capital of the state of Western Australia (WA), destroyed more than 70 homes but there was no evidence of any life loss so far, local authorities said on Wednesday.
Although an approaching cyclone might bring heavy rain to Perth, the relief was believed to be still days away and the adverse conditions were expected to worsen before that and might threaten more homes and lives.
"That is a concern ahead of some difficult conditions today where we're going to see the wind shift to the southeast and that'll bring that northern flank under pressure," WA's Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) Commissioner Darren Klemm said.
"We're into day three in this fire. And it is going to continue to be a challenging fire for at least the next three, four or five days," he said.
The bushfire aggravated the predicament Perth was facing as the city just plunged into a strict 5-day COVID-19 lockdown triggered by a local case of the mutated virus found in Britain.
Over 200 firefighters were working in the field day and night trying to contain the blaze, which had already burned through more than 9,400 hectares of land.
