Argyle fire destroys shed

A fire which sent smoke billowing across South Western Highway reducing visibility for motorists on Saturday afternoon is not thought to be suspicious.

An estimated $200,000 damage was caused to a machinery shed when the fire started shortly after 2pm on Saturday near Argyle, 8km from Donnybrook.

Donnybrook Police and crews from Donnybrook, Bunbury, Eaton and Argyle attended the blaze, which took hours to control.

Western Power spokeswoman Jillian Reid said Western Power workers attended the scene of the fire to disconnect power at the request of emergency services and would carry out an investigation into the cause of the fire.

Donnybrook Police Sen. Const. Paul Manera said investigations were ongoing, but it appeared an electrical fault was the cause of the fire.

He said while South Western Highway was not closed due to the smoke, it caused visibility and safety issues with crews working close to the road.

“We were there trying to slow the traffic down, but there were continuous issues with traffic, people not slowing down and trying to look rather than looking where they were going,” Sen. Const. Manera said.

He said a big gas cylinder inside the shed was deemed to be empty by firefighters and was not a cause for evacuation.