Boddington bushfire: Threat downgraded but residents urged to watch surroundings amid expected wind changes

Australians on both sides of the country must remain vigilant as floods and fires threaten their homes.

Though a bushfire continues to rage about 200km southeast of Perth, nearby residents are no longer being urged to leave their homes.

Threat to lives and homes remains possible as fire conditions change but the risk alert has been downgraded to “watch and act”, meaning Bannister, Wuraming and Boddington locals must monitor their surroundings and act quickly if the situation worsens.

Increased humidity and consolidated containment lines have improved fire behaviour, according to the Department of Fire and Emergency Services.

However, the bushfire remains uncontrolled and uncontained, and wind changes are expected.

Dry, gusty winds and a Christmas heatwave had fed the fire that was believed to have started at the Boddington gold mine.

“We did have temperatures in the high 30s to low 40s across much of the southwest land division,” Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Miriam Bradbury told ABC News.

“Unfortunately that, combined with dry, gusty, easterly winds did really elevate that fire danger.

“It shouldn’t be quite as hot today as it was yesterday, but there will still be some challenging conditions for firefighters battling any ongoing blazes in the landscape.”

On the other side of Australia, Queenslanders in the state’s northwest and central areas have been urged to remain alert for possible floods.

A monsoon trough in Queensland’s northwest has continued to move along the coast, bringing showers, rain and thunderstorms to many parts of the already-soaked state.

Residents living in the adjacent Northern Territory areas are also bracing for intense rains and storms.

The extreme weather led to a partial crane collapse on the Gold Coast on Thursday as winds reached more than 80km/h.

Police made an emergency declaration in the area but no one is believed to have been hurt in the incident.