Homes were under threat from an out-of-control bushfire burning near the town of Toodyay, east of Perth, on Tuesday evening and emergency services have reported property loss.

The state’s Department of Fire and Emergency Services issued an emergency alert for residents in Toodyay near Salt Valley Road, Challeon Lane, Panorama View, Hoddy Well Road and Sandplains Road on Tuesday afternoon.

Emergency services received reports of the fire at 1.37pm. It moved quickly to the south-east. Watch-and-act alerts have been issued for other areas in Toodyay.

The fire department said it was too late for people in the areas under emergency alert to evacuate. They were advised to shelter in a room of their home that had two exits and ready access to water.

“You must shelter before the fire arrives, as the extreme heat will kill you well before the flames reach you,” the alert said.

A spokesman, Russell Jones, told ABC radio in Perth that some structures were are already believed to have been destroyed in the fire, but it was too early for him to confirm if the structures were sheds or houses.

A Seven News reporter, Rebecca O’Donovan, who was in a helicopter above the fire, said it appeared two sheds had been destroyed.

Jones said winds at Toodyay were gusting up to 25km/h. “It’s giving the firefighters some work.” He said people in the area needed to remain vigilant.

“Be well aware of the situation around you,” he said. “If you are currently in the area, please don’t take your situation for granted. It may be clear where you are now but please stay vigilant.

About 100 firefighters were battling the blaze. Jones said water-bombing aircraft would also be in use.

The fire danger index rating for Toodyay and other areas surrounding Perth was severe, with temperatures soaring to 39.3 degrees before midday. Areas of the central wheatbelt and central west were listed as in extreme fire danger, and a total fire ban was in place.

Toodyay is about 85km east of Perth in the Avon valley and frequently experiences bushfires. A 2009 bushfire destroyed 38 homes in Toodyay. That fire began on 29 December.

In January 2014 a bushfire in Parkerville, a suburb in Perth’s eastern hills, destroyed 55 homes.

The Toodyay fire was one of three burning in Western Australia on Tuesday.

A small fire in Rockingham, 50km south of Perth, began at 1pm but was under control on Tuesday afternoon and not threatening homes, and a fire in Wellington national park, near Harvey in the state’s south-west, has been burning since Christmas Eve.