Queensland’s Western Downs were still facing out-of-control bushfires on Tuesday morning as 18 fires continued to burn across the state overnight and an emergency warning remained in place.
Residents in Kowguran, Myall Park and Hookswood, near Miles, were told to leave immediately at 1am on Tuesday, as the fire reached more than 7,400 hectares in size.
Ground crews were expected to be supported by aircraft on Tuesday as firefighters continued attempts to bring the blaze under control.
James Haig, the state operations coordinator at Queensland Fire and Emergency Services, said the fire was still able to move and increase in size until contained.
The Tara community centre was opened as a point of refuge for evacuees from the out-of-control fire at Montrose, which has displaced more than 40 residents since Sunday afternoon.
The Montrose fire was 890 hectares in size on Tuesday morning and had destroyed more than 20 structures, including several houses and sheds.
Damage assessment teams had conducted 92 damage assessments and were continuing to assess damage on Tuesday.
Ergon Energy said power was off around Tara and north of Miles due to the bushfires. In assessing damage to their network the energy provider said: “It’s not a pretty picture.”
“We have multiple poles that are literally piles of ash and will need to be replaced,” the company said on social media.
A Queensland fire and emergency services spokesperson said firefighters were working to establish containment lines at Montrose.
Residents of Fairyland and Burra Burri, near Jandowae, were warned to prepare to leave at 9.20pm on Monday evening and again at 6.20am on Tuesday morning due to a “heightened level of threat” and changing conditions.
Danny Teece-Johnson of the Bureau of Meteorology said there were possible storms forecast for the Darling Downs region but the synoptics charts indicated they were heading for the Eastern Downs, with the fire-affected Western Downs expected to say “pretty dry”.
“There’s still a slight chance of a shower in the Western Downs,” Teece-Johnson said. “That may help in terms of dampening the fires but the double-edged sword of that is we do have some winds in the region, up to 30km/h in the late afternoon.”
He said the heatwave warning had been cancelled although temperatures remained high.
Haig said authorities were not confident the humid conditions of the coast would push inland, with the two fires of concern burning hundreds of kilometres away.
The fire danger rating remained high with challenging conditions brought on by temperatures forecast in the mid to high 30s until Thursday over a large section of Queensland, Haig said.
The area, from Gladstone down to to the NSW border, and as far west as the Western Darling Downs just short of Roma, has had a lack of rain for “quite a few months”, Haig said, adding that it was unusual to have significant fires so late in the season with February usually a wet period.
The Queensland fire and emergency services state coordinator, Brad Commens, told ABC News there were 18 fires burning across south-east and south-western Queensland on Monday evening.
Commens asked people to be “very, very diligent”. “We’ve still got a very dry area over next 24 to 48 hours,” he said.
Haig said the daily tally of fires “goes up and down a bit” because authorities are attempting a “weight of attack” strategy to extinguish fires as quickly as possible using multiple trucks.
⚠️Updated Storm forecast for Tue 13/02. A reassessment of conditions has led to a 'severe storms likely' area now being included north of Brisbane, including the #SunshineCoast. Main hazard is heavy rainfall, locally intense rain also possible. Keep an eye on warnings tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/3pG3ZS2nX0
— Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland (@BOM_Qld) February 13, 2023
South-east Queensland could face severe thunderstorms, with damaging winds and a large hailstorm forecast on Tuesday afternoon, covering “quite an extensive area of Bundaberg down to the border”, Teece-Johnson said.
