Western Australia in 'extreme' heat wave, raising bush fire risk

A rocky outcrop holds an Aboriginal shelter of significance in the Pilbara region of Western Australia where human habitation stretches back over 60,000 years, Gudai-darri, 1,120 kilometres (695 miles) northeast of Perth, Australia, October 19, 2023. REUTERS/Melanie Burton/File hoto

SYDNEY (Reuters) -Parts of Western Australia were gripped on Saturday by an "extreme" heat-wave, raising the risk of bush fires in the vast state, the nation's weather forecaster said.

The Bureau of Meteorology had an "extreme heat-wave warning" in place on Saturday for the remote Pilbara and Gascoyne areas of Australia's largest state, warning temperatures there could hit high forties degrees Celsius over the weekend.