WA fires: Two bodies found in burnt-out Yarloop homes thought to be those of missing elderly men

Human remains have been discovered in two houses in Yarloop, in Western Australia’s South West region, which has been devastated by bushfire.

Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) officers entered a house in a fire-affected area of the town and found what they believe to be human remains.

No formal identification has been made, but police said given the circumstances they believed the remains belonged to a 77-year-old man who was unaccounted for after the fire swept through the town.

The officers then went to a second property where they found what they believed were the remains of a 73-year-old man who was also unaccounted for.

The families of both men have been notified of the development.

Earlier on Saturday the ABC spoke to WA man Bruce Taylor who had been trying unsuccessfully to contact his 77-year-old brother, Leslie.

Mr Taylor said a neighbour told him his brother’s Yarloop house had been destroyed, along with his vehicle which had been parked out the front of the house.

He said his brother was a Vietnam War veteran who was not in the best of health.

WA Police said further forensic work would need to be carried out once it was safe to do so, and reports would be prepared for the coroner.

Inquiries are continuing into the whereabouts of two other people still missing.

Police are urging anyone who lives in Yarloop, but left before the fire, to register in person to Australian Red Cross staff at an evacuation centre.

An emergency bushfire warning remains in place for Yarloop, along with a number of other areas including east of Waroona and Hamel.

But the towns of Harvey, Cookernup and Wokalup are facing the biggest threat, with residents warned the fire could reach those areas overnight.

Western Power said there were interruptions to some electricity supplies in the region as a result of the fires.

It is encouraging customers without power to make alternative arrangements, saying it could be several days before all power is restored.

This post originally appeared on ABC News.