Gwelup Bushfire: Residents forced to flee as blaze rages close to homes and Lake Karrinyup Country Club

Residents in Perth’s north on Sunday afternoon fled their homes, as scorching temperatures fuelled an afternoon blaze on the edge of one of the city’s most prestigious golf clubs.

Firefighters fought the Gwelup fire, which was first reported at 5.30pm on the corner of Wanstead Street and Porter Street in Gwelup and bordering the Lake Karrinyup Country Club, for more than 90 minutes before escalating it to a watch and act.

Bushland flared up, with residents reporting 15m-high flames burning up to the back fences of more than a dozen homes in the exclusive Spiderlily Mews estate, which backs on to the golf course.

Those homes were the focus of heightened alerts, before the Department of Fire and Emergency Services downgraded the fire after 8pm, getting it under control.

But residents raised concerns that a house had been seen alight during the afternoon, after a strong northerly wind pushed the fire close to back fences, as well as the golf course, with temperatures in the area reaching as high as 43 degrees.

Multiple firefighting crews tackled the fire from the ground, with several helicopters offering aerial support.

Wanstead Street resident Steve told 7NEWS the area had been like a tinder box, with Perth’s dry summer leaving the bushland highly flammable.

While the immediate fears eased, concerns mounted the fire may have been deliberately lit, with an investigator called in to search for the cause of ignition.

By 6.30pm, the fire had already claimed a wooden bridge in the Lake Gwelup reserve bushland, but the Department of Fire and Emergency Services advised that while there was no threat to lives or homes residents needed to be aware of the situation.

Despite this, some residents in the area were seen packing up and evacuating their homes.

Residents in Karrinyup, Duncraig, Gwelup, Warwick, Hillarys and Carine had been experiencing unplanned power outages from 3pm and the bushfire in Gwelup may cause delays in its restoration, after affecting 698 Western Power customers.

A Western Power spokesperson has said the fire is not directly linked with the power outages, however, it means the company will operate differently, having to make “sure it is all patrolled before we go in”.