Alcoa WA refinery not damaged in bushfire

An Alcoa alumina refinery in Western Australia is operating at reduced capacity but a nearby mine remains shut down as a 50,000-hectare bushfire burns nearby.

Initial assessments indicate the Wagerup alumina refinery has not suffered any major infrastructure damage from the fire that swept through the area on Thursday, Alcoa says.

"Alcoa employees and Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) fire crews have worked tirelessly to defend the refinery in extremely difficult circumstances," the company said on Friday.

Power distribution at the plant, located four kilometres north of the fire-devastated town of Yarloop, was interrupted for a short time on Thursday but has been restored and the plant is running at a reduced rate.

But its Willowdale mine, which supplies bauxite ore to the refinery, remains shut down.

Additional staff were bussed into the refinery on Thursday night to provide relief to personnel unable to leave because of the fire with another staff changeover planned for Friday morning if access was safe.