"SYDNEY - 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.

As firefighters battled a blaze in steep, inhospitable terrain, authorities told residents of Bullsbrook, a suburb of 6,600 in Australia’s fourth largest city, to ignore a stay-home order and leave immediately as hot, dry weather picked up."

Byron Kaye and Renju Jose report for Reuters February 2, 2021. [2]