Three people are missing in a bushfire which has all but wiped out the historic West Australian town of Yarloop, with 95 homes gutted by the blaze.
One Yarloop local says there's "bugger all left" after fireballs ripped through the town of 545 residents on Thursday night, while another said the fire just couldn't be stopped.
"Once it hit the town there was no stopping it because the houses were just exploding," Ron Sackville told AAP from Yarloop, around 130km south of Perth.
"They were just going, one after the other, down the street here.
"The town's absolutely devastated."
As well as the homes, the hotel, the 110-year-old Yarloop Workshops and Steam Museum, the heritage doctor's residence and most of the school were all destroyed by the out-of-control blaze which has burnt out more than 58,000 hectares since being sparked by lightning on Wednesday.
A family of three, who had been unaccounted for, were found on Friday, but authorities said the fate of three other people was unknown.
"We have had what I would suggest are catastrophic losses in Yarloop. This has had and will have a major impact on the community," Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner Wayne Gregson said.
Two people were airlifted out of Yarloop, while 80 were being evacuated by road.
But 16 refused to budge, including Mr Sackville, who successfully defended his home.
He told AAP he heard gas bottles and petrol drums explode as properties around him burned.
The heritage-listed Workshops had been the most intact example of a historical railway workshop in Australia.
Caretaker Phil Stanton said he did not know what to do now that the workshops and his home were gone.
"It's bloody completely disappeared. It's just a cloud of ash," he told AAP.
Yarloop resident Kate Barry fled with her four children and photos, but their home was ruined.
"You couldn't breathe, it was just raining ash," she said.
Another resident who stayed to protect his home, Alex Jovanovich, described the fire as crazy.
"One fireball after another. The wind, it was that frigging strong, it was unbelievable, but I managed to save my house and I saved the house next door.
"It's devastating. There is bugger all left."
Four firefighters have suffered injuries, but at least two of them were released from hospital with only minor injuries.
One appliance was also lost in Lake Clifton.
An emergency warning remains in place for the Shires of Waroona and Harvey, including Lake Clifton and Preston Beach on the coast, south to Myalup and 30km inland to Cookernup.
A watch and act alert is in place for Binningup and Wellesley.
Almost 700 people have registered or sought refuge at two evacuation centres, while about 3900 properties remain without power.
DFES says food and water will be delivered to Preston Beach by air and available to residents at the general store.
The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast hot and windy conditions to continue, and lightning.
Concerns about fatigue among firefighters means interstate help may be requested later.
Premier Colin Barnett and Opposition leader Mark McGowan tweeted their support for residents.
"Thanks to firefighters and volunteers still working to contain these destructive fires," Mr Barnett wrote.
Emergency services minister Joe Francis said it was "very challenging" for the community but the government would do what it could to help.
The Insurance Council of Australia has declared the bushfires a catastrophe.
