People near a fire that raged close to homes and farms in a a rural enclave in Western Australia's South West overnight are relieved after the threat level was downgraded, but have been urged to remain on alert overnight.
The fire had been threatening properties in Thomson Brook, south-east of Donnybrook, after strong winds fanned the blaze, which was reported on Wednesday.
Authorities downgraded the fire from an emergency warning to a watch and act about 11am on Thursday.
But people have been warned to remain vigilant as the fire, which is not contained or controlled, moves slowly in a westerly direction.
Residents were told this afternoon the watch and act alert was expected to remain in place until at least tomorrow.
Hobby farmer Sarah Purcell's husband was out all night fighting the fire, just south of her property.
Ms Purcell said she had an anxious night.
"As it started to get dark, you could see the glow of the fire, and it really lit up the sky," she said.
Ms Purcell said there was widespread relief the fire had been downgraded to the watch and act alert level.
"We're very relieved ... we've spoken to our neighbours this morning, they're all very relieved as well."
People in the warning area need to keep up to date in case the situation changes, with a community meeting to be held at 4pm today at the Donnybrook Recreation Centre.
The watch and act warning is in place for an area bounded by Upper Capel Road to the west, Upper Capel Road and Kirup-Grimwade Road to the south, Preston Road to the east and Forrest Road and Thomson Brook Road to the north in parts of Thomson Brook, Brookhampton, Grimwade, Kirup, Mullalyup, Newlands, Noggerup, Thomson Brook, Upper Capel, Brazier and Newlands.
For those wanting to leave the area, the safest route is towards Donnybrook.
Fire 'pretty much stationary'
Authorities are confident they have the upper hand on the fire, which forced about eight people to shelter at an evacuation centre in Donnybrook overnight.
About 30 people attended a community meeting in Donnybrook this afternoon.
DFES incident controller Damon Childs said firefighters were strengthening containment lines, and hoping for cooler conditions tomorrow.
He said there had been no official reports of property or infrastructure damage.
DFES Superintendent Allan Riley said firefighters were working to protect a handful of rural properties.
"It's not contained yet, but we are getting on top of it," he said, adding the fire was burning mostly in forested areas but had encroached on farmland.
He said firefighters had slowed the progress of the blaze, which was now "pretty much stationary".
He said there had been no reports yet of damage to stock or property.
Donnybrook local Leanne Wringe, who lives in Brazier near the bottom east end of the fire, said smoke was clearing, after she saw "plumes" last night.
'Small' number of rural properties affected
Earlier, Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) incident controller Peter Thomas said about 100 volunteer and Parks and Wildlife Service firefighters were battling the blaze.
"Luckily it's not a huge amount [of homes affected] at the moment. It's a small number of rural properties in the Thompson Brook area that it's impacting on.
"There is some impact on South Western Highway with regards to smoke."
Crews faced 'challenging' conditions overnight
Mr Thomas said it had been a "challenging" night for crews, which had been bolstered by volunteers from Donnybrook and the wider South West region.
"We've had some strong winds that have been coming consistently from the east, but [they have] been fairly strong and making it challenging for our crews," he said.
"They've done some great work in protecting the homes in that area and containing the fire currently to where we'd like it to be, and hopefully today with a bit more work we can have that fire cleaned up in a few days.
"Currently, we've got an evacuation centre set up at Donnybrook Recreation Centre. That's on Steer Street in Donnybrook, so people can make their way there if they need a place to stay.
"If they have family or friends nearby then we'd suggest going towards their places."
Evacuation centre 'quiet'
Department of Communities South West Regional Executive Director Brendan Mooney said eight people used the evacuation centre overnight.
"It's pretty quiet down there at the moment," he said.
"The centre's there for anyone in the affected area that needs it, but of course a lot of people will choose to stay with family and friends where they've got that option.
"For those coming to the centre, it's worth grabbing your ID if you can, and thinking about anything important you may need such as medication or phone charger.
"The other important thing is that we can't have pets actually in the centre, so people should make some other arrangements for those wherever possible."
The C130 Hercules Large Air Tanker (LAT), which is stationed at Busselton, also helped to contain the fire.
Cooler conditions on the way
BOM meteorologist Jessica Lingard said conditions were expected to ease on Friday.
"There is an easing heatwave there as well, and the good news is that we do expect to see conditions easing tomorrow," she said.
"We do have that trough that is going to be slowly moving inland.
"So a change in the winds, which isn't great news for the [firefighters], it does put a bit of a spanner in the works for arranging where their crews are going to be. But it does mean cooler conditions, which should help ease things."
The temperature in Donnybrook is expected to reach a maximum of 37 degrees on Thursday, before dropping to 28 degrees on Friday.
The fire started near the intersection of Thomson Brook Road and Eastman Road in Thomson Brook.
Brookhampton Road is still closed from Thomson Brook Road to Kirup-Grimwade Road.
Visit Emergency WA or call DFES on 133 337 to stay up to date.
