A farmer working frantically to protect his property from a fast-moving bushfire has died after his vehicle was engulfed in flames.

The man aged in his 60s was operating a front-end loader as he tried to create a fire break at West River, about 500km drive south-east of Perth on Monday afternoon.

The man, believed to be a local, was fighting a large blaze that was threatening several homes near Ravensthorpe, police said. Ravensthorpe is southeast of Perth. Ravensthorpe is southeast of Perth.

He died on the scene as the blaze tore through the region, burning about 300 hectares of farmland.

Emergency services responded to reports homes in the vicinity of West River Road and Fitzgerald Road were under threat at 2.20pm on Monday.

“An investigation into the circumstances surrounding t

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