An emergency warning remains in place for parts of Wedge Island, Grey, Cervantes, Nambung and Cooljarloo in the Shire of Dandaragan in Western Australia.
It includes the fishing shack villages of Grey and Wedge, and Cervantes, a town with a population of about 500 some 200 kilometres north of Perth.
Incident controller Damien Pumphrey says the blaze reached the main road into the town overnight but containment lines are holding.
Firefighters continue to battle a fierce blaze as it heads towards coastal communities. (HANDOUT/DEPARTMENT OF FIRE AND EMERGENCY SERVICES WA)
"We're doing a lot of work in that area ... reducing the risk as much as possible," he told ABC News on Friday.
The fire has burned through more than 70,000 hectares of bushland since it was started by a fatal car crash on Monday.
Shire President Tony O'Gorman says the situation has improved since Thursday but the wind is expected to "whip up" during the day.
"We had those large air tankers come in yesterday afternoon and drop some retardant all along the fire front," he said.
"(We're) feeling fairly confident this morning."
Mr O'Gorman said some residents from Grey were rescued by boat from a beach on Thursday.
"Our fisheries vessel (in Jurien Bay to the north) and our marine rescue people went down and took those people off the beach because it was just too risky to leave them there," he said.
The blaze started on Monday and has burned through about 43,000 hectares of bushland. (HANDOUT/DEPARTMENT OF FIRE AND EMERGENCY SERVICES WA)
About 37 residents in Wedge and Grey chose to stay in their communities as the blaze burned through the roads in and out of the villages.
The bushfire is moving in a westerly direction and is not contained or controlled, according to The Department of Fire and Emergency Services.
Mr Pumphrey on Thursday night described the fire as a fierce and challenging blaze with about a 48km perimeter.
More than 200 firefighters are battling the blaze.
Parts of Indian Ocean Drive and multiple surrounding roads have been closed in the area.
04:50 AM - Bushfire Emergency Warning - TOO LATE TO LEAVE - CERVANTES, COOLJARLOO and NAMBUNG: — DFES (@dfes_wa) https://t.co/dh3YtI2ctWNovember 28, 2024
Two volunteer firefighters were burned on Wednesday as the blaze flared.
An evacuation centre at Jurien Bay Sports and Recreation Centre has reopened, while Nambung National Park remains closed.
Temperatures are set to reach the high 30s over coming days, with squally winds also predicted.
Residents along the Ashburton Coast have been warned to brace for extreme fire conditions on Sunday.
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