1300ha burnt, multiple structures destroyed as fire spread in Cypress Gardens, Millmerran Downs

Millmerran Downs residents are waiting to see if they have a home to return to after fire ripped through the rural hamlet, destroying several structures. Warnings remain in place across the Darling Downs, which is subject to a total fire ban.

Millmerran Downs residents who were forced to flee from a massive bushfire on Monday are likely to be kept away from their homes until at least Wednesday afternoon, with the authorities deeming the area still unsafe.

They included Lorraine Hodkinson, who ran from her home not expecting it to still be standing when she returned.

“I volunteer for Blue Care and I was making phone calls when I heard a car honk,” she said.

“I went outside and it was our neighbour who told us to leave.

“All I could see was a big plume of smoke and flames, I had a bag packed and grabbed that, I got the dogs and we got out.

“I did not think our houses would have survived.”

Ms Hodkinson met up with other evacuees at Captains Mountain and said the mood was sombre.

“They had lost their homes and we thought we had lost ours,” she said.

There have been unconfirmed reports that the fire started on a property neighbouring Mrs Hodkinson’s, at a home that was under renovation.

The evacuation order remained in place through the night, and in the morning Mrs Hodkinson approached the police cordon on the Gore Highway and was told her house was OK.

“The firefighters were amazing,” she said.

“They were able to save our house and our daughter’s house but we had lost a couple of vehicles and our sheds.

“When you live in the bush in a fire-prone area, you can’t expect firefighters will be able to save your home so you have to prepare, do the right thing and clear around your property.

“The conditions were just ripe for it.

“I want to say a big thank you to the firefighters, they really do put themselves in harm’s way.”

Fire ripped through Millmerran Downs on Monday afternoon, destroying several structures, including two homes.

The Queensland Fire Service has issued a total fire ban for the Toowoomba, Southern Downs, Western Downs, Goondiwindi, Maranoa and Balonne Local Government Areas.

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services regional manager of rural operations Wayne Waltisbuhl said ground and aircrews had worked through the night and into the morning to contain the fire threatening Millmerran Downs, and by yesterday morning had nearly 80 per cent of it contained before a wind change saw the blaze jump the Gore Highway.

Mr Waltisbuhl said one home and three sheds had been lost to the fire in the Millmerran Downs area, while five structures had been lost in the Tara area to a fire that was some 600ha in size.

In total, 28 people fled to the Millmerran evacuation centre.

“When we ask people to leave immediately we mean leave immediately for their own protection and their own life,” he said.

“People who don’t adhere to that make it really difficult for us to protect them and save their lives.

The Millmerran Down bushfire was 80 per cent contained when it jumped the highway on Tuesday afternoon.

“For instance last night one of our crews who was in protecting one of the houses actually got trapped themselves for a short period of time.

“They were safe, they just couldn’t get out because of the fire behaviour.

“That tells us how dangerous the situation is. People need to really listen to what our messages are and act upon those messages as promptly as possible.”

Cypress Gardens man Bill Good is no stranger to bush fire.

He has survived a few and valiantly protected his home when fire ripped through the area in 2019.

Residents who fled the fire on Monday are unlikely to be allowed to return until Wednesday afternoon at the earliest.

He knew what to expect when a fresh blaze erupted from a nearby property on Monday.

“The fire started about 1.5km from my place and I have been told it started as a house fire,” he said.

“At that time the wind was blowing away from my place so I was okay, but with all the smoke it was hard to tell what was happening.”

Fanned by gusty, dry wind, the fire spread across the rural hamlet, torching more than 1300ha, with unconfirmed reports that several structures were destroyed.

Bill Good took this photo from his property as fire took hold in Cypress Gardens.

The Queensland Fire and Emergency Service issued a ‘Leave Immediately’ alert about 2pm on Monday but Mr Good was determined to stay and protect his home.

Mr Good moved the area in 2019 with hopes of building his home by hand but the 2019 bushfire and Covid pandemic complicated that process.

He had finally put the finishing touches on it on Saturday.

“I moved into my new house yesterday and Mother Nature put on a house warming for me,” he said.

“I think I got about three hours sleep, I woke up every hour and looked out the window to see where the fire was.

“You get used to it, I have dealt with a few fires.”

Mr Good has cleared the scrub from around his home and had plenty of water on hand.

He said the wind shifted overnight and now he was concerned the fire would be heading back towards his place.

“I’m not that worried,” he said.

“You take up too much emotional energy being concerned.”

Doug Grist took this photo as he fled property at the corner of Primrose Road and Ayers Rock Road. The smoke is coming from his neighbours home, which he said was destroyed.

An exclusion order remains in place for properties between Kakadu Ave, Gore Highway, Violet Rd and Wombinebong Drive, as well those Ironbark Drive, Millmerran Woods Drive and Wombinebong Drive.

Superintendent Waltisbuhl said it was likely to remain in place through Wednesday as the region as ripe for fire.

“Really dry fuel, canopies open, lots of grass growth pre-season, and it’s just helping evolve a fire and provides ladder fuels from the ground right up into the middle canopy,” he said.

“There’s a lot of fuel on the ground and a lot of middle layer fuels as well, so the flames are growing as it moves up through that canopy level, and once the wind gets behind it, it becomes a crown fire and pushes through very fast, hence why we’re seeing flame heights of 10 to 25m.

“So as we see this week move on our forecast weather for today will be a peak in our fire danger, therefore this fire is going to probably evolve even more as we move into Wednesday and into Thursday itself.

“This is a really dry period, really dry fuels out there, soil moisture is low, all the ingredients are there for us at the moment to have really bad fires.”

Ayers Rock Road resident Doug Grist evacuated on Monday afternoon but attempted to get back to his property this morning.

He had cleared his property of debris and scrub but as he left he saw his neighbours home go up in flames.

“Hopefully everything will be saved,” he said.

Originally published as 1300ha burnt, multiple structures destroyed as fire spread in Cypress Gardens, Millmerran Downs