Rapid wind changes have kept firefighters attending a Taabinga grass fire over the past 31 hours on their toes, with police having to briefly shut down the Bunya Highway as the flames crept up to the road.
A total of 19 Queensland Fire Department crews are at the scene of the fire along Boonenne Ellesmere Road in Taabinga, which first broke out at around 9:30am on 17 September.
The QFD reported that up until 2pm on 18 September the fire was under control, but that once the flames began to move west quickly – coming within 100 metres of a structure – firefighters called for backup.
By 2:30pm the QFD’s crews had managed to beat back the 300 metre-wide fire front, with a spokesperson for the department saying around 60 per cent of the blaze was contained to the eastern side of Boonenne Ellesmere Road.
However, the firefighters’ luck once again took a turn: just before 3pm, the then 20-kilometre an hour southwesterly wind turned into a 28 km/h west-southwest wind according to the Bureau of Meteorology’s weather station at the nearby Kingaroy aerodrome, causing the flames to pick up speed.
Shortly after 3pm on-site firies reported flames had broken out on both sides of Boonenne Ellesmere Road once more, with the blaze now also inching toward the nearby Bunya Highway.
The Queensland Police Service responded to calls for aid from the QFD, establishing a road block on the highway by 3:30pm due to heavy amounts of smoke impacting visibility.
At 4pm the QFD issued an ‘Advice’-level warning for residents of Taabinga, informing them of potential further road blockages. However shortly after the warning reached the public, firefighters reported the fire contained.
The Queensland Government’s Department of Traffic and Main Roads no longer lists the Bunya Highway at Taabinga as closed.
The QFD’s warning for the area, however, persists at time of writing.
Residents of the affected area are urged to remain indoors, follow their bushfire survival plan, and wait for further updates.
