Restriction on fires in our region

Severe fire risk to end the week

‘‘ WE HAVE RAISED OUR BUSHFIRE PREPAREDNESS LEVEL IN RESPONSE JOHN WELKE

FIRE restrictions will be in force across the Toowoomba and Western Downs regions from today.

Rural Fire Service Darling Downs acting regional manager John Welke said while conditions were expected to ease today in terms of the fire danger, the restrictions would be enforced from 8am.

It brings Toowoomba and the Western Downs into line with the Southern Downs Regional Council area which has been subject to restrictions for weeks.

Mr Welke urged residents to be vigilant to fire risks tomorrow when the region returns to a severe fire danger rating.

“That’s due to a combination of high temperatures, low humidity and strong westerly winds as a weather system moves through this part of the region ahead of a cooler change over the weekend,” he said.

“We have raised our bushfire preparedness level in response to the forecast weather danger, and are maintaining situation awareness and operational readiness.”

Additional water tankers have been deployed to Warwick and Inglewood in preparation of the fire dangers and to address the water shortages in the region,” Mr Welke said.

“Our main concern is the likelihood of sustained forest fires given low soil moisture and dry timber conditions,” he said.

Local fire bans have been enacted for six local government areas including the Lockyer Valley, Somerset, Scenic Rim, Logan and Gold Coast areas.

Information on how to prepare a property is available online at ruralfire.qld.gov.au.