Mayor says fire was too close for comfort

Strelow backs firefighting effort as Gracemere saved

ROCKHAMPTON'S Mayor Margaret Strelow has breathed a sign of relief after the town of Gracemere escaped without any homes being lost from an out of control bushfire.

More than 8000 Gracemere residents were forced to flee the town last night and take temporary relief in Rockhampton overnight.

Cr Strelow deemed this a "good news day” as the smoke settled after yesterday's fire evacuation and Gracemere residents started to return home this morning.

"There was a brief moment we faced a diabolical fire with Gracemere absolutely at risk and even Rockhampton in its firing line,” she said this morning.

When asked how close the region came to disaster, she responded "too close”.

There was some property damage at Kabra but no loss of life.

Cr Tony Williams credited the water bombers for making a real difference to the firefighting effort.

"The water bombers [aircraft] really did make a difference, front line emergency services battled the blaze and won while evacuation centre staff did a fantastic job looking after residents who stayed through the night,” Cr Williams said.

QFES' commissioner, Katarina Carroll, also spoke of the "incredible effort” it took service personnel and residents to evacuate during "some of the most concerning hours” in the state's history.

Fire still poses a significant risk not only in the Rockhampton region but around Queensland as a combination of strong winds and dry conditions drive flames toward populated areas.

Cr Williams will convene the Local Disaster Management Group at 9am today to assess the situation and potentially downgrade the threat to alert stage.

For school closures around the region, please refer to closures.det.qld.gov.au/

Originally published as Mayor says fire was too close for comfort