Fires consume homes in Australia's west

PERTH, Australia: Wildfires possibly sparked by fallen power lines roared across a swath of western Australia on Wednesday, razing almost 40 homes and sending hundreds of people fleeing for their lives, officials and witnesses said. At least three people were injured.

Two major blazes burned out of control overnight after breaking out Tuesday afternoon in a wheat and sheep farming district north of the coastal city of Perth, forcing the evacuation of the township of Toodyay and threatening a second town, Badgingarra, farther north..

The two fires scorched a combined total of more than 13,400 hectares of forest and farmland before cooler conditions yesterday helped firefighters contain them.