An major bushfire in western Australia destroyed nearly 100 homes and left three people unaccounted for as it tore through a small rural town south of Perth, emergency officials said on Friday.<br />"I believe we've had what I would suggest are catastrophic losses within Yarloop," said Wayne Gregson, Western Australian Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner.<br />The bushfire, which had already razed 53,000 hectares of land this week, ripped through Yarloop on Thursday night, population just 545, fanned by blustery hot winds.<br />Around 95 homes were destroyed, along with the post office, shops and the town's fire station, said local media.<br />The bushfire continues to threaten other beef producing Western Australian towns, emergency workers said.
