46 homes have been lost in the devastating fires that have been raging throughout Queensland, and authorities have warned that conditions will continue to deteriorate on Tuesday.
Strong westerly winds and high temperatures are predicted to intensify flames and weary firefighting troops in the Darling Downs region, where it has been forecasted that extreme fire conditions will prevail.
On Monday afternoon, an urgent warning was sent to homeowners living near Lucky Road in Tara, which is located west of Brisbane. They were instructed to evacuate their homes immediately.
The fires claimed the lives of two people the previous week, including an elderly woman who suffered a heart arrest while fleeing her home during the evacuation.
According to Joanne Greenfield, acting deputy commissioner of the Queensland Fire and Emergency Service (QFES), as many as 46 homes, 30 outbuildings, and eight mobile properties had been destroyed. She also stated that the number of dwellings burned might be higher.
According to Greenfield, as of Monday, there were more than 80 fires spread around the state.
John Welke, superintendent of the Rural Fire Service, told reporters on Monday that fire workers had taken advantage of the cooler weather over the weekend but that conditions will worsen on Tuesday. He predicted that conditions would worsen on Tuesday.
Welke warned of exceptional fire hazard for the Darling Downs region on Tuesday, including strong westerly winds “in the vicinity” of 30 kilometers per hour. “Unfortunately, we do see some severe deterioration in the weather tomorrow,” Welke added.
According to a forecast from the Bureau of Meteorology, the temperature in Toowoomba will reach a high of 33 degrees Celsius on Tuesday, while in Tara it will reach a sweltering 37 degrees Celsius.
As a “tremendous resourcing drain” affects the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services, Welke stated that firefighters from Victoria would assist the state’s efforts later on this week.
He advised residents of Queensland to abide by the fire bans that were implemented over most of the state and to reevaluate their decision to undertake activities such as welding outside.
Peter Hollier, acting assistant commissioner of the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services, said that emergency crews were looking for some relief as Wednesday and the rest of the week moved along.
“When it comes to the events that will take place tomorrow, we can’t help but feel worried. “We are most definitely getting ready for this,” he remarked. Based on the information that we now possess, it appears like we are in a favorable position today afternoon.
According to Ben Marcus, the acting deputy commissioner of the Queensland police, there are currently only 48 individuals staying in evacuation centers, which is a significant decrease from the peak number of 300 people.
“This is a very major blaze. Another problem that we have with Tara is that they were also affected by the fire that happened earlier this year, he explained.
Marcus said that the investigation into a number of fires that broke out on the Sunshine Coast on Sunday in locations where “there shouldn’t have been an ignition source” was ongoing.
According to the police, a fire that broke out in Beerwah, which is located in the Glass House Mountains region, looks to have been started on purpose.
It has not been determined what caused the two other fires that broke out in the neighborhood.
