September 23, 2026
The fire emergency in the Teelah area eased further on Wednesday, with the Queensland Fire Department’s alert level dropping to “STAY INFORMED” in the early evening.
The alert warned residents the fire could continue burning near Stretton Drive for days so residents should stay informed because the situation could change.
Both Rural Fire Service and urban crews were in action all day at the fireground which extended, between Wild Deer Drive and Stretton Drive.
Smoke was rising from the gullies behind houses along the ridge tops.
Some fire crews were working to strengthen containment lines and targeting still-smouldering logs while others were conducting an extensive backburning operation along one flank of the area.
Waterbombing helicopters were also in action, dropping loads on outbreaks in the gullies behind houses, directed by spotter aircraft.
On Wednesday evening, there were still 13 fire units at the incident with local rural crews joined by units from across the Wide Bay Burnett District.
QFD Damage Assessment teams were expected to visit the fireground on Thursday.
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The South Burnett Local Disaster Management Group organised a community meeting at the Blackbutt Memorial Hall on Wednesday night.
It was well-attended with about 20 local residents briefed by firefighters and Council staff.
South Burnett Mayor Kathy Duff thanked the firefighters for the fabulous job they were doing, and urged residents to continue following the Current Warnings page on the Queensland Fire Department website and the South Burnett Disaster Dashboard.
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Earlier in the day, QFRS Incident Controller David Sewell updated the media at the Kingaroy Incident Control Centre about the Teelah fire.
He said the volunteers from the Rural Fire Service and the Queensland Fire & Rescue staff had done an amazing job protecting residences.
Queensland Police had been doorknocking residents throughout Tuesday to alert them to the danger.
He said one caravan had been lost in the blaze while some outbuildings had also been damaged.
The approximate size of the incident (at 11:30am Wednesday) was 400ha.
He said fire crews had come from the Fraser Coast, Cooloola and Gympie areas, the Darling Downs and Lockyer Valley. More crews were expected from Bundaberg on Wednesday.
Mr Sewell said it was undetermined at this stage how the Teelah fire started but investigators would determine the origin of the fire.
He urged people to have a Bushfire Survival Plan as a bare minimum.
Residents were urged to monitor the Queensland Fire Department’s Facebook page, the Current Warnings page and listen to ABC Local Radio.
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