Arrests over blazes
TWO men have been arrested for starting fires in Central Queensland during the most catastrophic bushfire conditions in the state’s history.
And last night the crisis flared again with nine people, including children evacuated by rescue helicopter from Eungella as a blaze threatened the township an hour west of Mackay.
The group was taken to Finch Hatton while other locals sought shelter in the local community centre while a total of 25 fire appliances and two aircraft were fighting the blaze. “At the moment we have an unfolding situation at Eungella,” Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said.
“People are safe, they are in the community centre, we have equipment and appliances there, we have some aerial water bombing taking place.”
Police will allege the two men each deliberately lit blazes in the Rockhampton area this week despite the horrific weather conditions with more than 100 fires burning across the state and repeated warnings of a total fire ban.
Police yesterday arrested a 27- year- old man allegedly lighting a grass fire beside the Burnett Highway at Port Curtis, south of Rockhampton, just one day after 8000 homes were heroically saved from a fast- moving bushfire near Gracemere 15km away.
A day earlier, a 26- year- old man was charged with endangering property by fire, after allegedly setting alight vegetation at Rockhampton on Wednesday.
State disaster co- ordinator Deputy Commissioner Bob Gee said police treated arson offences “very seriously”.
“Arson can have devastating consequences including the potential for loss of life, the destruction of property, livestock and livelihoods,” he said.
Some 114 bushfires are still burning around the state and more than 240 fire crews are on the scene battling the blazes. The Premier called on Queenslanders to donate to communities affected by the bushfires, kicking off a fundraising campaign with a $ 125,000 donation.
“We’ve already seen the heartbreaking impact of these bushfires – vast swathes of land stripped and blackened, properties reduced to rubble and hundreds of families forced to evacuate their homes.
“At times like this all Australians pull together, as we’ve seen with the outstanding as- sistance of interstate fire crews.” Heatwave conditions are expected to persist into next week, with a sweltering weekend ahead.
Meanwhile, Queensland is also on alert for the possibility of a tropical cyclone.
A tropical low was last night located east- southeast of Papua New Guinea, and was forecast to move in a southwesterly direction while developing further over the coming days.
There was uncertainty of the tropical low’s movement and development early next week, but the Bureau of Meteorology said it would be closely monitored.