North Queensland bushfire season: QFES says be prepared to evacuate

Townsville’s most senior rural firefighter is urging residents to be prepared this bushfire season as four fires burn close to the North Queensland capital.

Members of the Purono Rural Fire Brigade battle to contain a bushfire to the north of Townsville over the weekend. Picture: Purono Rural Fire

Townsville’s most senior rural firefighter is urging residents to be prepared this bushfire season as four fires burn close to the North Queensland capital.

Firefighting aircraft are helping ground crews battle bushfires near Brady Road in Oak Valley south of the city and Julago to the southwest.

Smoke is also affecting Bluewater, Yabulu and the surrounding areas from multiple fires burning to the northwest of Townsville, while Alice River, Rangewood and surrounding areas are affected by smoke from fires near the Gumlow and Hervey Range roads.

No properties are currently at risk although Queensland Fire and Emergency Service issued notices on Sunday evening advising residents of Dawn Street, Sunnyside Street and Coast Road to be prepared to leave due to the Julago fire.

Queensland Rural Fire Brigade regional manager Superintendent Tony Hazell said on Monday that despite the fires the moisture content of the soil remained high compared to the 2018-19 fire season “when it was a bit of a rough ride”.

A bushfire burning close to homes on the outskirts of Townsville on Sunday. Picture: Supplied

He said his concern was the forecast El Nino weather phenomenon that was expected to bring less rainfall and drier conditions that could lead to a “more volatile” season in 2024-25.

“But that is not to say that we don’t have a job in front of us this year.”

Superintendent Hazell said fire alert levels currently sat at low to moderate.

He said the current issues firefighters were having was attempting to protect homes “where there is limited defendable space around the house”.

“Typically where a house is built on top of a ridge because it’s got a lovely view, what tends to happen is that there is very little opportunity to create a big enough space around the dwelling,” he said.

“And if the home is at the top of the ridge, fires travel quicker uphill then they do on flat or downhill so those structures are hard to defend and we’ve got a number of those along the Muntalunga Range (southwest of Townsville) and down in that Oak Valley area.”

Superintendent Hazell said firefighting conditions over the weekend were impacted by strong winds.

“Once you get a wind-driven fire, it will travel at the same speed as the wind so what that means is the fire behaviour can be changed radically, which is why we are putting out community warnings for people to stay informed.”

He said every North Queenslander needed to already have a Bushfire Survival Plan in place and be ready to evacuate at a moment’s notice.

“Particularly our more vulnerable people in the community such as the elderly and people with young children.”

For more information please visit https://www.qfes.qld.gov.au/prepare.

Originally published as North Queensland bushfire season: QFES says be prepared to evacuate