Acacia Prison under threat as Wooroloo residents warned to leave immediately to escape raging bushfire

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Acacia Prison under threat as Wooroloo residents warned to leave immediately to escape raging bushfire

WA’s biggest prison is under threat and Wooroloo residents have been warned to leave immediately to escape a rapidly-moving bushfire.

An emergency warning has been issued for people residing in parts of The Lakes and Wooroloo, including Acacia Prison.

The Department of Fire and Emergency Services urged residents just after 4pm to prepare for the worst because the fire posed “an imminent threat to lives and homes”.

“You are in danger and need to act immediately to survive,” it said.

The area under threat is bounded by Great Eastern Highway, Chinganning Road, Inkpen Road, Woottating Road and Carter Road.

Photos taken from the air show a shed and two water tanks being engulfed by flames.

WA’s biggest jail, the medium-security Acacia Prison, is within the danger zone.

The nearby minimum-security Wooroloo Prison Farm is also on alert, even though it is not in the area in immediate danger.

The blaze, which was first reported at 2.16pm on Wednesday, started on Great Eastern Highway near the intersection of Carter Road in The Lakes.

Camera IconA bushfire in Wooroloo is threatening Acacia prison. Credit: 7NEWS

It is out of control and unpredictable, moving fast in an easterly direction. So far, it has torn through more than 260 hectares.

Fire fighters with more than 50 trucks are battling the blaze and building containment lines, with support from the air.

Acacia Prison houses more than 1500 male prisoners.

The Department of Justice said Corrective Services was liaising with DFES and WA Police about the bushfire in the vicinity of Acacia Prison and Wooroloo Prison Farm.

“Both prisons have activated operational responses to the situation and Wooroloo is deploying fire response teams,” a spokesman said. “Authorities continue to monitor the situation closely.”

WA Prison Officers Union secretary Andy Smith said he had not heard from members that they were in any imminent danger.

But he said if prisoners did have to be moved, there was nowhere for them to go.

“If we do have to evacuate, we have no spare beds anywhere in the State,” he said.

Motorists have been urged to avoid the area and a number of roads have been closed, including Great Eastern Highway between The Lakes Roadhouse to Linley Valley Road and Wariin Road between Great Eastern Highway and Great Southern Highway.

DFES has advised residents if their plan is to leave, they should leave now in a northern or southerly direction.

And if they cannot leave, to make final preparations to shelter in their home in a room with a clear exit.

It is too dangerous for residents who are not at home to try and return.

An evacuation centre has been opened in Northam, at the Northam Recreation Centre.

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