Nearly 100 homes have been destroyed after a major bushfire in western Australia.

The bushfire, which had already razed 130,965 acres of land this week, ripped through Yarloop on Thursday night, fanned by blustery hot winds.

Around 95 homes were destroyed, along with the post office, shops and fire station in the town which has a population of 545.

"I believe we've had what I would suggest are catastrophic losses within Yarloop," said Wayne Gregson, Western Australian Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner.

"It just got out of control...after that it just ripped through, it was quite scary," volunteer firefighter Jesse Puccio told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

"It's like when you see in the war when the napalm bombers go through."

The bushfire in Western Australian is the latest in a series of fires that have razed parts of the country amid sustained hot, dry weather.

Four people were killed in a series of bushfires sparked by lightning in Western Australia in November, two people were killed in fires in South Australia state, and more than 100 homes were destroyed in fires on Christmas Day in Victoria state.

Wildfires are an annual summer event in Australia, but rising temperatures have prompted some scientists to warn that climate change could increase the length and intensity of the summer fire season.

Australia experienced its fifth hottest year on record in 2015, according to the Bureau of Meteorology, which has been keeping statistics since 1910.