Smoke haze blankets north
RESIDENTS to the north of Toowoomba can expect a second morning of smoke blanketing the area.
Fire broke out on Friday near O’Donnell Rd and Murphys Creek Rd, soon spreading towards Watts Rd.
By the time residents in Murphys Creek, Cabarlah and Highfields woke up yesterday, thick smoke blanketed the region and between six and nine hectares of bushland was burned.
A Queensland Fire and Emergency spokeswoman said there were 10 Rural Fire Brigade crews on scene to fight the blaze.
“At the moment we have 10 crews on scene and they’re basically all four-wheel drive rural units” she said.
“That’s just because of the terrain; parts of it are really rough and they’ve actually got the water bombing helicopter that has just started.
“With the wind, there is definitely in that whole region there is going to be a whole lot of smoke tomorrow morning, even if it is mainly burned out.”
She said the main task for fire crews moving forward was keeping an eye on containment lines and ensuring the blaze didn’t escape the perimeter.
While the fire had moved onto several properties in the area, no buildings were under threat.
Today’s weather report shows no sign of helping to ease conditions, with another warm, sunny day predicted.
Temperatures are set to range from 10°c up to a top of 24°c.
The winds are predicted to blow from the east in the morning at about 20kmh.