Tough conditions hamper firefighting operations
SOME people have been allowed to return to their homes in the bushfire-ravaged Gold Coast hinterland but the area’s bushfire crisis is not over.
Unpredictable winds created challenging conditions for firefighters in Lamington National Park yesterday.
Winds grounded aircraft for periods as emergency crews urged people to immediately leave O’reilly, another area nestled amid rainforest in the path of fires. Yesterday afternoon the dangerous fire moved east and people were urged to head for O’reilly’s Rainforest Retreat, at Canungra.
Officials want people to leave during the day because it is quicker and less dangerous than moving them at night.
Authorities are going door to door to make sure people get the message to get out.
Acting Fire Commissioner Mike Wassing said the situation had become “dynamic” because of the unpredictable winds.
He said about 97 people had retreated into the O’reilly’s resort, where they were at a safe distance from the fire.
The warnings came just hours after police escorted some evacuated Gold Coast hinterland residents back to their properties for their first glimpse of homes destroyed by bushfires over the weekend. Scenic Rim Mayor Greg Christensen said a small group of evacuees from the Binna Burra and Sarabah areas was allowed to return home on Sunday to check on animals and get medications.
Cr Christensen said the residents had been warned their homes were gone but that this was the first time they could assess the damage.
“One or two of those found property loss,” he said. “However they had been told when they went in, so they were prepared for that.”
Eleven homes and the historic Binna Burra Lodge have been destroyed in the Gold Coast hinterland.
Cr Christensen said the strong winds were still making the situation “exceedingly volatile”, and warned displaced people that it was still not safe to go home.