Turbulent winds may return threat of fires
PEOPLE living near a large bushfire burning on the Tablelands have been warned to stay alert amid concerns it may flare again today and threaten many homes.
Sixteen fire crews and a water-bombing helicopter continued to fight the blaze in the Millstream area near Ravenshoe yesterday with residents placed on a “watch and act” alert and told to prepare to evacuate.
Police doorknocked homes to ensure residents were ready, while firefighters battled to keep the fire inside containment lines.
Incident controller Brad Fleming said conditions forecast for today did not bode well with high temperatures and swirling winds.
He said that if the fire managed to jump Mt Ronald Rd, they would be “in real trouble”.
“The area is really susceptible to swirling winds,” he said.
“It makes our activities quite difficult sometimes. The fear right now is, if we have a wind change, the back of Eucalyptus Rd and Greys Lane may become under threat.”
He said the winds switched between northerly and southerly in the area where the fire was burning.
“It’s really turbulent and makes it very hard to do any planning,” he said.
The helicopter is expected to return to the area today to continue waterbombing, while a fixed-wing plane will be on standby.
Mr Fleming said the overhead resources were invaluable, allowing the helicopter pilot to map the fire movements from above to be sent through to the incident control centre.
He said residents who were home had prepared their properties well, but there were a number of unoccupied residences which could face serious threat if the fire gets close.
Millstream resident Will Mackay, who lives on Greys Lane, said firefighters and police visited residents yesterday to ensure they were prepared.
“We’ve been warned,” Mr Mackay said.
“It’s really dry at the moment. We’ve got five acres and we never got burned the last time, but we keep our place pretty clean.
“At the moment I don’t think we have too much to worry about.”
Mr Fleming said at least three crews were expected to remain on scene last night to monitor the blaze.
Residents are advised to call triple-0 if they believe their property comes under threat.
For information on current bushfire incidents visit http://www.ruralfire.qld.gov.au/map.html.