A Department of Fire and Emergency Services fire fighter battles a bushfire in Brigadoon, Perth, Australia, February 2, 2021. AAP Image/Supplied by Department of Fire and Emergency Services, Evan Collis/via REUTERS
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Strong winds threatening to fan a bushfire prompted Australia on Wednesday to urge thousands of people to leave their homes in the provincial capital of Perth, complicating a lockdown after the state detected its first coronavirus infection in 10 months.
The fire in Western Australia has destroyed a swathe of more than 9,000 hectares (22,240 acres) and 71 homes, the authorities say, in a reminder of blazes that destroyed millions of hectares of habitat in the country's east a year ago.
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