Forest fire claims houses in Western Australia

A forest fire near Australia's west coast city of
Perth might have razed more than 20 houses Sunday, dpa cited residents fleeing
the blaze as saying.
More than 100 firefighters backed by water-bombing aircraft are
tackling the fire at Parkerville, 35 kilometres west of Perth.
The Department of Fire and Emergency Services confirmed houses had
been lost, but spokesman Russell Jones told the national broadcaster
ABC that it was too early to say how many.
"The fire is still out of control and uncontained," he was quoted as
saying.
The fire broke out after two consecutive days of temperatures above
40 degrees.