Twelve bushfire and smoke warnings were current across Queensland late on Thursday morning, including two new fires in the Toowoomba region, as the fire at Teelah in the South Burnett that forced an emergency warning on Tuesday was brought under control.
The Queensland Fire Department lowered the Teelah warning to Return With Caution at 9.25am Thursday. The fire near Stretton Drive "is now under control and will continue to burn for days", the department said, warning of possible damage to roads, powerlines and properties and of patchy power, water pressure and phone services.
Two fires started warnings on Thursday morning. At 9.14am QFD issued a Stay Informed warning for a fire near Esk Hampton Road at Ravensbourne, north-east of Toowoomba. At 10.53am it issued another for a fire near Spinach Creek Road at Fordsdale, heading towards Cook Road and Sawpit Gully Road. The department said both could burn for days, and aircraft were helping ground crews at Fordsdale.
Two larger fires are expected to last much longer. Near Gunpowder on the Barkly Highway, smoke from a large fire is affecting Mount Isa, and QFD's warning, as at 11.54am Wednesday, said the fire "is not under control" and "could burn for weeks". Smoke from a fire in the Donnybrook Nature Reserve is covering Wallangarra, Wyberba and Ballandean on the Granite Belt, with the same weeks-long outlook. Other warnings cover Lowmead near Bundaberg, Upper Lockyer, Nundubbermere south-west of Stanthorpe, and Archer River on Cape York.
The Teelah fire was the week's most serious. At 10.25am on Tuesday QFD issued a Seek Shelter Now warning for Stretton Drive and Scott Close: "A very dangerous fire is burning near Stretton Drive. It is impacting Stretton Drive and Scott Close. SEEK SHELTER NOW to survive. It is too late to leave."
South Burnett Online reported the warning was downgraded to Stay Prepared at 6.26pm Tuesday. It said a place of refuge opened at Blackbutt Memorial Hall, the Queensland Ambulance Service reported no injuries, and an early report of a house loss turned out to be a caravan.
The warnings did not reach everyone reliably. "It is dangerous for people to try and move around the particular area, and I do believe some of the communication towers may be down due to fire impact," QFD Fire Chief Superintendent Matthew Smith told the ABC on Tuesday. South Burnett Online reported that automatic phone alerts went out, though coverage in the emergency zone was unreliable.
The fires followed a hot, very dry start to the week. Bureau of Meteorology observations show Kingaroy reached 31.7C at 3pm on Monday with relative humidity of 12 per cent. Applethorpe on the Granite Belt reached 28.4C with humidity of 10 per cent.
The Nundubbermere fire began as a permitted burn that escaped weeks ago, according to Rural Fire Service Queensland Chief Superintendent Shaun Toohey. He told the ABC that in current conditions the fire would take "a couple of weeks to exhaust itself." Balonne, Goondiwindi, Southern Downs and southern Maranoa were drought-declared in July, the first declarations in the state in two years.
Conditions are easing in the south-east. A high in the Tasman Sea is pushing a strengthening ridge over most of Queensland, according to the Bureau. Its forecast for Toowoomba on Thursday is a top of 21C, a medium chance of showers, easterly winds of 25 to 35km/h and Moderate fire danger. Friday's forecast is also 21C. The Bureau still expects above-average maximums in the south-west and southern interior.
Most of Wednesday's advice and smoke warnings were due to expire on Thursday afternoon unless QFD renewed them. Residents near the Toowoomba fires should check the department's current warnings before travelling on Spinach Creek Road or Esk Hampton Road.
