Blaze threat sparks disaster group alert

TOWNSVILLE’S disaster management group has been moved to “alert” for the first time since the floods, as firefighters prepare for a long bushfire season.

Mayor Jenny Hill said the Local Disaster Management Group’s status was on Tuesday night updated to “alert” just in case it was needed to deploy extra resources and open evacuation centres should residents need support.

It comes as Townsville firefighting resources were “pushed to the limit” during a fourhour window on Tuesday.

QFES Northern Region Acting Assistant Commissioner Michael O’neil said there were 139 staff, volunteer firefighters included, on the ground across the greater city area putting out fires.

He said 39 fire trucks were deployed to deal with 45 grassfires between 1pm and 5pm on Tuesday, in one of the busiest periods he had witnessed in his career.

“Our services were pushed to the limit,” Mr O’neil said.

“We also had the advantage of a recruit course being run here so we had our recruits out assisting our frontline staff.”

Mr O’neil said the conditions in Townsville were “different” to what was normal for this time of the year.

He said it was fortunate the region did not have the same vegetation types or thickness of growth as southeast Queensland, but fires had been moving through the region’s terrain quickly.

“The wind can change the direction quite rapidly, which causes us a lot of grief and certainly can cause the community grief as well,” he said.

“Fortunately for us we still have fairly low temperatures but looking into the weekend, the temperature is going to increase and the wind will remain. We had a significant wet season this year so we have a lot of fuel on the ground.”

Mr O’neil said, considering the unprecedented conditions so early in the year, a long bushfire season was expected.

Backburning operations have been going on proactively for a number of months.

Cr Hill said putting the LDMG at alert meant assistance for QFES and the community would be ready to go when needed.

“Should things not go as planned in terms of the QFES being able to contain some of these fires, we will be able to provide immediate support and assistance to our residents,” she said.

“I hope the fires don’t get worse for us, but I’d rather be prepared than be caught out.”