A Kiwi living in Perth has been among those helping rescue animals as an out-of-control bushfire in the region looks set to burn for a fourth day.
The fire has so far ripped through nearly 100 kilometres of property in Wooroloo, an hour outside of Perth. The blaze is now moving north, away from dense suburban areas but fanned by wind gusts of up to 70km/h.
Officials confirmed the fire began on a private property in Perth's hills, but it's unknown at this stage what caused the fire.
Whanganui-born Candra Tassell has been helping people move their horses to her friend's animal sanctuary, located 10 kilometres south of the fire, since Monday night.
“Perth is dry so we were expecting it to have fires but to live in suburbia and to walk outside at 9 o’clock at night and see a giant glow like a massive monster coming toward your house is really scary," Tassell, who has been living in Australia since 2011, told 1 NEWS.
She said while horses were "running around crazy", the horse community has "really kicked into gear and we got a lot of horses out".
Tassell was forced to walk a rescue horse to the sanctuary's paddock two kilometres away after he refused to be loaded on her horse float. The float was left behind to allow for the rescue of other horses nearby.
She said being unable to return home due to Covid-19 restrictions has been "really hard", but "you’ve got to make do with the situation that you’re in and just help each other".
The mother of five said she wants to show her children "you don't run, you help and that's what it's all about — you've gotta step up and help".
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