The risk of widespread bushfires in Queensland has decreased, leading to the downgrade of warnings and allowing some residents to return home. However, there are still more than 80 active bushfires across the state, with six watch and act alerts in effect. Police declared an emergency under the Public Safety Preservation Act on Saturday night due to a rapidly advancing fire threatening the towns of Landsborough and Beerwah on the Sunshine Coast.
Fortunately, the emergency declaration was lifted three hours later as the properties in the area were no longer considered under threat. However, a fire continues to burn in Tara, where 32 homes were lost and one person tragically lost their life in several fires in the Western Downs region. Several watch and act warnings are still in place for at-risk residents, while others in the eastern area of the warning zone have been given permission to return home cautiously.
According to an alert, the fire near Ravens Road is now under control within containment lines. Warnings for bushfires in Farleigh near Mackay, Chinchilla and Miles, Ellesmere near Brooklands, and Tinaroo near Mareeba have been cancelled as conditions improve. Residents in Mundubbera, Gayndah, Coalstoun Lakes, Biggenden, and surrounding areas are advised to avoid smoke. The same advice applies to those near fires in Lakeland near Cooktown, Mutchilba near Mareeba, Durong near Kingaroy, and Fernvale.
These downgraded warnings come after a man in his 50s suffered burns to his upper body and face while trying to contain a fire in the North Burnett region. He was airlifted to the hospital for treatment. The man was reportedly using a grader to clear a fire break on a neighbor’s property when the flames approached too closely.