Queensland firefighters are focusing efforts on three major bushfires burning in the Western Downs.
Residents at Myall Park and Hookswood, near Miles, are being told to leave immediately as firefighters battle a large blaze.
Shortly before 6:30pm on Tuesday, Queensland Fire and Emergency Services issued a "watch and act" notice for Fairyland and Burra Burri, where a large fast-moving fire is travelling from Nudley State Forest towards Moran Creek Road.
Fire continues to threaten properties at Montrose near Tara, with residents told to "watch and act", while a prepare-to-leave alert remains in place for residents at Fairylands, near Jandowae, as another blaze burns in the area.
Queensland Rural Fire Service Superintendent Wayne Waltisbuhl said the fire north of Miles remains the greatest concern.
"Myall Park fire is currently at about 26,000 hectares in size and is only 15 per cent contained," he said
"The rest of it is out of control and running hard."
He said the fire near Fairyland is also not contained and is out of control and that the conditions had been "some of the worst fire weather that we have seen for many years".
Superintendent Waltisbuhl is hoping the storms that have arrived across south-east Queensland on Tuesday afternoon will offer some reprieve.
He said authorities began a damage assessment of the Myall fire near Miles on Tuesday.
Thus far, the only damage recorded has been to two sheds at Myall Park.
The Montrose and Wieambilla fire near Tara has destroyed 21 structures, including 17 houses.
"The Wieambilla fire is now finished — all damage assessments have been completed and that will allow people to go in this afternoon," Superintendent Waltisbuhl said.
'There's smoke everywhere'
Western Downs residents endured a second sleepless night at evacuation centres as dozens of fire crews battle multiple fast-moving bushfires near Miles, Tara and Jandowae, north-west of Brisbane.
An out-of-control inferno ripped through Janet Yates's property at Tara on Sunday.
Ms Yates said the bushfire had spread so fast, her family barely had time to escape.
"My husband and I … we were having a nanna nap, my son went outside … and he came in and said 'Mum, there's smoke everywhere'," Ms Yates said.
"We had a couple of minutes [to get out], that's all.
"I used to be a volunteer firefighter in WA and I didn’t think it'd be so quick as that. It was just instant. There was no warning it was coming."
Ms Yates said her family didn't have time to grab clothes or belongings, leaving with their dogs and nothing else.
"[Our] emergency plan went out the door because it was too quick," she said.
"Our whole place was on fire when we left."
Ms Yates said she felt "lucky" to have got out safely.
"We’ve lost old things and memorabilia but we’ll replace it," she said.
"Our lives are more important than things.
"We’re really lucky ... we’re alive."
Anxious to return home
As fire crews work to contain the bushfire, Ergon Energy is assessing the safety of power lines in the area before land holders can safely return to their homes.
Residents on Timothy Road have been allowed to return, but remaining residents are still waiting for the all-clear.
Some are staying at the evacuation centre in Tara, while others have sought accommodation at hotels or with friends and family.
At a community meeting, police told residents they would "triage" street by street, systematically working their way through to determine when it was safe to return to their properties.
Authorities said it could be days before some residents were able to safely return to their properties.
Tara resident Daniel Cole said he couldn’t believe how fast a bushfire near his property spread, as erratic winds fuelled the blaze.
"With the wind and how fast it was spreading, I only had time to go down, tell the family, call the neighbours … but mainly just get the family out to the car and make sure we could get out safely," Mr Cole said.
"Within 20 minutes, it was engulfing a property, crossing the road, and continuing to engulf other properties down the road."
Mr Cole said it had been a stressful and anxious time.
"Wish I could know what was happening at the house and all the animals inside or on the property … we want to know whether it's standing," he said.
"The kids just want to go home but we know it's going to be like this for a few days."
Shannon Ale has been waiting to return to his property near Tara, but roads have remained closed due to power line work.
"Apparently the power lines are down out the front of my property. The crews are doing what they can … all we can do is wait.
"Obviously all the food that would be starting to go off in the fridges and freezers, but we can go and buy that again — it's just the waiting."
Possible reprieve today but won’t last: BOM
The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said high fire dangers were forecast to continue for the next few days in the Darling Downs, Granite Belt and Central West areas.
Storms sprang up across a wide area of south-east Queensland on Tuesday afternoon, offering some reprieve from days of extreme heat.
But senior forecaster Laura Boekel said the heat was expected to build again from Wednesday and last into the weekend.
Assistant Commissioner Hermann said the "unseasonal" dangerous weather and possible erratic fire behaviour could continue for weeks.
"The briefings we've had from the Bureau of Meteorology suggest that this fire weather and these conditions are going to continue to ebb and flow through to the end of March, even into early April," he said.
"It can lead to very erratic fire behaviour … we don't normally see that this time of year."
Habitat could take decades to recover
Ecologist Robert Gardiner said the bushfires would have a devastating impact on the local flora and fauna.
"It’s not like a little patch is burning, we’re talking about a lot of land," Mr Gardiner said.
Mr Gardiner said it would take a long time for the damaged areas to regenerate.
"It’ll really set back the environmental area here," he said.
"There are some really rare animals out here that a devastating fire can wipe out a local population, and then it’ll take many, many years for those plants and animals to recover to what it was before.
"It’s not as if it's one to two years, there'll be sections of the forest that won't recover for many decades."
