A 12-year-old boy managed to escape a rapidly encroaching bushfire just before it engulfed his home by fleeing through a paddock in his family’s car.
Lucas Sturrock had no choice but to think on his feet on Monday when a massive wall of fire raced toward the rural property in Mogumber, north of Perth.
The boy, who stayed behind while his father Ivan and brother Dale fought the blaze, had been instructed to follow the family’s emergency escape plan to head to an orange tree three to four kilometres away.
But when the fire got out of control, the schoolboy jumped in the driver’s seat of the manual car and found his way to the main road.
Lucas Sturrock, 12, escaped a bushfire encroaching on his family’s property in Mogumber, WA, by fleeing in a car
The boy was at home when a massive wall of fire began to spread along the paddock
Three major bushfires continue to threaten residents and homes in Western Australia as they burn over more than 20,000 hectares
‘I didn’t know where he was, what he was doing or where he went,’ Dale told 9News.
Lucas’ concerned brother and dad sought help from local firefighters who were able to locate him an hour later.
‘He did a good job – he could drive a manual better than me, I haven’t driven a manual for 12 years so he’s a smart kid,’ Firefighter Spencer told the station.
The survival story came as three major bushfires continued to threaten residents and homes in Western Australia as they burned over more than 20,000 hectares.
Emergency warnings remain for the two bushfires declared in the northern Perth regions of Yanchep and Mogumber as well as for one at Yourdamung Lake in the Shire of Collie.
Emergency services continued consolidating and strengthening containment lines overnight, as temperatures mildly cooled down to the low 30s.
A bushfire raging out of control in Yanchep since Wednesday put thousands of properties at risk on Sunday.
Bushfire declared on Sunday threatened lives and homes in Mogumber, north of Perth. An emergency warning was issued and residents were asked to shelter
Lives and properties were under threat at Guilderton, Woodridge, Gabbadah, Wilbinga, Caraban, Seabird, Yeal, Redfield Park, Soverign Hill, Seatreets and Breakwater Estates.
Parts of Two Rocks, Neergabby, Yanchep, Gnangara-Moore River State Forest, Moore River National Park and the Yeal Nature Preserve were also covered by the warning.
In New South Wales, some 115 fires were burning with 59 uncontained.
Firefighters were backburning to deepen containment lines ahead of a heatwave later this week that’s expected to fan the bushfire risk.
Daytime temperatures in NSW and the ACT are expected to exceed 40C from Tuesday through to Saturday, while in the west of the state the mercury was set to top 45C.
The heatwave will likely spark an elevated fire risk across NSW, the Bureau of Meteorology and NSW Health warned on Monday.
In NSW, a 70-metre high wall of flames is bore down on homes near the Blue Mountains after a backburning operation spread out of control
Pictured: Smoke over the Blue Mountains. The Gospers Mountain blaze is more than 378,000 hectares in size and ravaging the Blue Mountains
Meanwhile, the massive Gospers Mountain bushfire burning northwest of Sydney was downgraded on Tuesday morning after up a torrid day on Monday when up to 20 buildings were destroyed after firefighters lost control of a backburning operation.
The fire, which was burning on multiple fronts – from the Lithgow area in the west, through the Hawkesbury area and towards the Central Coast in the east – had so far destroyed almost 400,000 hectares.
Overnight, emergency warnings for the Palmers Oaky fire near Capertree and the Kerry Ridge fire in the state’s Hunter region were also downgraded to ‘advice’ level.
Total fire bans were in place on Tuesday for the North Western and Northern Slopes regions, when the fire danger rating was ‘very high’.
The Bushfire and Natural Hazards Cooperative Research Centre said NSW was facing a long and challenging fire season into 2020 due to dry conditions, high temperatures and low humidity.
Meanwhile in Queensland, two communities south of Bundaberg were at risk as another fire raged to the city’s north.
Residents in the regional Queensland town of Mount Maria, about 75 kilometres north of Bundaberg, were told to leave their homes as a bushfire approached.
The Leave Now warning was also issued for Gregory River (north of Childers), and a watch and act for Promisedland overnight.