Arson, Pimpama: Gold Coast kids believed to have lit two fires on purpose as hinterland burns

A group of children are believed to have deliberately lit two fires at Pimpama at the weekend as the city’s hinterland was being razed by wildfire.

A group of children are believed to have deliberately lit two fires at Pimpama at the weekend as the city’s hinterland was being razed by wildfire.

On September 7 around 3.30pm, a person was driving past Rifle Range Road when they spotted smoke coming from a storm water drain.

He found a small fire, quickly returning with buckets of water to extinguish it.

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A fire in the Gold Coast hinterland that firies have been battling for days.

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Later, at 4.45pm, police on Yawalpah Road noticed smoke coming from the western side of the M1.

Just south of Bull Road, they saw the bushfire, which was soon attended to by the Ormeau Rural Fire unit. The fire was extinguished.

Police investigated the two fires and located three boys, 9, 10 and 11-years-old.

The two older boys will be dealt with under the Youth Justice Act.

In the past week, the Gold Coast hinterland has battled fierce bushfires, which have spread for kilometres.

Binna Burra Lodge was destroyed by the fire, while at least 11 homes have been lost.

Residents were also admonished for lighting bonfires and camp fires, despite a total fire ban in place until September 15.

A bonfire on a Gold Coast beach also spiralled of control after it burnt more than 30m of dune vegetation on Sunday.

Police are reminding the public not to light fires in the current weather or commit acts of arson.