South Burnett Fire Permits Cancelled

Ballogie Fire 1 — Flames light up the night sky on J Hunters Road, Ballogie in December 2012 … Rural Fire Service officials warn the South Burnett could be moving into another dangerous fire season

Grass Fires Keep Rural Crews Busy

A number of grass fires around the South Burnett have kept rural fire crews busy over the past few days.

Currently, six crews are at Porter Road and Manumbar Road at Elgin Vale battling a large fire which has spread across more than 100 acres.

They were called at 1:30pm after the blaze was reported by a fire spotter aircraft.

No property is at risk but crews have reported the fire has “three heads” – one is currently under control but they are still working to control the other two (4:30pm).

Two rural crews were also called to Beitzel Road at South Nanango at 2:00pm today after another large grass fire broke out.

This fire created a large amount of smoke in the vicinity.

Firefighters had the flames extinguished by 3:00pm but were remaining in the area to mop up.

* * *

Authorities will continue to monitor for possible arson activity in the Blackbutt-Yarraman area after a number of fires broke out near Gilla about 4:00pm on Sunday.

There was one large fire and several smaller fires, all located within a short distance of each other near the D’Aguilar Highway.

Urban and rural crews attended the blazes.

Yarraman Police officer-in-charge Sgt Paul McDonnell said there was nothing to indicate the fires were suspicious but said it was unusual to have fires begin close to each other.

Rural Fire Service Queensland Acting Inspector Andrew Allan said authorities would continue to monitor for arson activity.

September 24, 2013

Fire permits in the Murgon, Wondai, Goomeri and Kilkivan areas have been cancelled due to the high risk of fires in the South Burnett over the next few days.

RFSQ North Coast Regional Manager Peter Hollier said firefighters were monitoring conditions and preparing for potential grass fires, particularly near ‎Kingaroy‬, Nanango‬, ‎Murgon‬, ‎Yarraman‬ and Blackbutt.

“High temperatures and low humidity have been forecast, which will produce a heightened fire danger over the coming days,” Mr Hollier said.

“These areas are also expected to experience strong winds, further increasing the fire risk.

“These conditions will make it very difficult to contain vegetation fires, so we’re asking residents to take extra care and be alert. To be frank, complacency in these conditions can place life and property at risk, so it’s vital people heed our warnings.”

Mr Hollier said a restriction on ‘permits to burn’ had been issued for the Fraser Coast and Gympie Regional Council areas and part of the South Burnett Regional Council area, previously known as Murgon and Wondai shires.

“Any permits issued in the above areas are cancelled and no further permits will be issued until conditions change. This is not a fire ban, it’s a restriction of permits, as current conditions are not safe,” he said.

“As we move further into the week, it’s likely more permit restrictions will be enforced in nearby council areas, so erring on the side of caution, I’d urge all landholders to delay any planned burns.

“Property owners who have recently conducted burns are asked to make sure any remaining fires are extinguished.

“We are asking people to ensure they are not throwing cigarette butts out of car windows and to re-evaluate operating machinery in dry grassed areas.

“Sparks from machinery can easily ignite grassland and a major fire can take hold very quickly.

“We’re asking landowners to consider delaying operating machinery that can cause sparks during these weather conditions as there have been a number of grass fires starting due to this.”

In addition, Mr Hollier said residents should finalise any outstanding bushfire preparations around their properties.

“If residents haven’t already, I urge them to visit the RFSQ website to download a Bushfire Survival Plan so that no one is caught off guard,” he said.

“Also make sure you’re tuning into warnings by regularly listening to ABC Radio and logging on to our website.”

“Finally, I’d also encourage people to follow the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service Facebook page which proved a great resource for informing the community of three bushfire warnings for the region in the past few days. Social media is of course just one tool we use to inform the community and complements the use of radio broadcasts.”