Cornubia bushfire: Road closed as grassfire burns in bushland

Visibility across Brisbane has rapidly deteriorated tonight as bushfires across the southeast and a fatal house fire at Carina cause a thick blanket of smoke to settle over the city.

LARGE bushfires in the Somerset region and a fatal house fire at Carina has created a thick blanket of smoke over Brisbane and much of the southeast.

As of 9.45pm, a bushfire at Redbank Creek has been downgraded to prepare to leave.

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services advise those who have already evacuated Redbank Creek cannot return until advised it is safe to do so due to fallen trees.

Evacuation centres have been established at Fernvale Futures Complex and Somerset Civic Centre.

At 11.15pm, police revoked an emergency declaration for a bushfire burning in the vicinity of Lowood.

Police said the declaration was made after a single-vehicle crash occurred on Patricks Estate Road around 1pm which sparked the blaze.

Meanwhile, the air quality in Cannon Hill has dropped to “poor” after a house fire in Carina this afternoon.

Visibility across the southeast has rapidly deteriorated due to incoming smoke from nearby fires.

The normal number of visibility reducing particles in the air in Queensland sits at about 250Mm⁻¹.

Tonight that number has more than doubled around the Rocklea area.

In Brisbane, it’s increased by almost 70 per cent.

Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Jonty Hall said northerly winds in the lower atmosphere and westerly winds in the upper atmosphere have brought smoke from multiple directions into the southeast.

“In coastal areas in southeast Queensland we’ve had pretty much northerly winds through much of the afternoon, so a lot of the smoke around the Brisbane area is being brought over by a large fire in Fraser Island,” Mr Hall said.

“We’ve also got westerly winds in the upper level of the atmosphere pushing smoke from the fires near Esk.

“So it’s two-layers of smoke coming from separate fires.”

Residents in the Sunshine Coast and Bribie Island were also advised to keep their doors and windows closed from thick smoke haze due to a blaze burning on Fraser Island.

Earlier today, 11 fire crews attended a blaze on Mt Cotton Road, Cornubia, with the first responders attending about 12.15pm.

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It came as an exclusion zone was declared at Lowood, west of Brisbane, where another blaze is being fought.

Residents of Patrick Estate and Wivenhoe Pocket to the north have been told to leave now.

The exclusion zone was bound by Brisbane Valley Highway to the north, along the Brisbane River to Lowood, west along Forest Hill-Fernvale Rd to Coominya Connection Rd.

Residents within the exclusion zone are urged to follow the advice of emergency services on the ground.

Members of the public were advised to avoid the area.

At Redbank Creek in the Brisbane Valley, residents have been ordered to leave immediately as an uncontrolled bushfire heads towards the community.

As of 5.05pm, a fast-moving fire was burning within Esk National Park, near Esk Hampton Rd, travelling east.

The fire is expected to have a significant impact on the community.

Residents being evacuated in both Redbank Creek and Lowood are urged to travel via Esk Hampton Rd to the Fernvale Futures Complex where an evacuation centre has been established.

Residents in Mount Stanley in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland have also been advised to evacuate.

A fast-moving fire is burning in the vicinity of LandCruiser Mountain Park and is expected to impact campers.

Campers should evacuate to the east along Diaper Road.

.@QldFES crews still battling flare-ups at Cornubia bushfire. Strong winds are fanning spot fires near homes. @9NewsQueensland pic.twitter.com/mCecZCcqMi

— Reece D'Alessandro (@R_DAlessandro9) December 6, 2019

Meanwhile, Cornubia resident Jesse Walton was at work when he got the call his house was under threat.

With his father he rushed back to the residence on West Coorang Rd to find the shed was burning down.

“The wind dragged the fire down our way and it just lit up,” he told The Courier-Mail.

The couple hosed down the surrounding and put out spot fires while firefighters extinguished the shed blaze.

“Dad lost a fair of his work tools,” he said.

“We’re definitely worried now with this sparking up.

“We back right onto the bush and we knew it could happen but we didn’t think it would.”

Steve Walton says he lost about $40,000 worth of tools when the fire ripped through his shed. Picture: Patrick Billings

Jesse’s father Steve Walton said he was devastated at losing “at least $40,000” worth of tools in the shed fire.

“(I’m) gutted,” he said.

“ it’s a pretty scary thought when it’s on your doorstep that is for sure.

“ You really feel sorry for the other guys that have lost homes we’ve only lost a garden she’d really.

“ They did a fantastic job fighting it and getting it under control real quick.”

His wife Bec said she hoped council re-examined it’s vegetation policy which limits how much clearing the Waltons can carry out on their property.

“We basically weren’t allowed to clear any of the trees any of the undergrowth, and this is the result,” she said.

“Hopefully they’ll relook at (it).”

Another West Coorang Rd resident said it was hard to see through the smoke.

“It was thick black smoke, you could hardly see,” Paul said.

“I’d never seen a fire that close.

“I’m too old to get nervous but it was really close.”

Firefighters at Cornubia. Picture: AAP/Richard Gosling

Luke was at home on his parents 10 acre property when he saw the encroaching flames.

“I just jumped in the bobcat and tried to do some clearing and set up some barriers

“There were flames at tree height and it was going around the dam.

“It was hot and Smokey and you sort of shit yourself a bit.”

Luke’s Mum Mandi said she was “very proud” of his efforts.

“It’s just a tinder box around here,” she said.

“It’s scary stuff.

“I don’t think we’ll sleep tonight.”

A picture of the bushfire burning in Cornubia. Picture: Richard Gosling

Fire crews are currently blacking out the surrounding areas and building containment lines.

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services earlier upgraded the bushfire warning to “prepare to leave”, with residents advised to be ready to follow their bushfire survival plan.

Mt Cotton Road was closed, with diversions in place from Valley Way. Police advised commuters to avoid the area.

The fire began as a small grass fire, a Queensland Fire and Emergency Services spokesman said.

Emergency services say people in the area will be affected by smoke, reducing air quality and visibility.

Sharon Lear, a resident whose house is across the road from the fire, said so far nobody was injured but the property across the road was on fire and a shed had burned.

A possum has been rescued from the blaze and is being looked after by one of the firefighters from Helensvale.

A possum rescued from the Cornubia fire. Picture: Judith Kerr

WHAT YOU SHOULD DO

■ Listen to your local radio station or visit the Rural Fire Service (RFS) website for regular updates.

■ If you have a bushfire survival plan, finalise it now so you are ready to follow it.

■ If you do not have a bushfire survival plan, or if your plan is to leave, identify where you will go if you leave the area.

■ Advise family and friends of your plan.

■ Close windows and doors to minimise smoke exposure.

■ If you suffer from a respiratory condition, keep your medication close by.

■ Drive with caution in low visibility conditions.

■ Contact your neighbours to see if they need help preparing for the bushfire.

■ Pack important documents and essential items (e.g., passports, birth certificates, prescription medication, food and water, and protective clothing) in case you need to leave the area.

■ Put on protective clothing (e.g., a long-sleeved cotton shirt, boots with thick soles).

■ Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated.

■ Bring pets inside; restrain them with a leash, a cage, or inside a secure room; and provide them with plenty of water.

■ Take action to protect your livestock.

■ Move flammable materials such as doormats, wheelie bins, and outdoor furniture away from your house.

■ Fill containers such as your bath, sinks, and buckets with water so you have access to drinking water and firefighting water.

■ Close windows and doors, sealing the gaps under doors and screens with wet towels to keep smoke out of the house.