As of Friday the Queensland Fire Department has placed strict conditions on landowners looking to light fires in the South Burnett.
From 12:01am on Friday, 25 September until further notice, both new and any already existing fire permits across the entire South Burnett Regional Council area will feature a range of stipulations aimed at reducing the risk of runaway bushfires.
Under the new conditions people with a permit may only light fires between 4pm and 5am and only if wind speeds are below 20 kilometres an hour, in an effort to reduce the rate of embers spreading.
Firebreaks must be a minimum of four metres wide and consist of bare earth, and patrols must survey the fire at all times until it has completely burnt out.
The landowner responsible for the burn must contact the QFD’s Firecom immediately before lighting the fire and after all flames are extinguished.
Any new permits to burn will only be issued for what the department calls the “absolute minimum amount of time.” QFD’s local fire wardens are able to cancel a permit for an outstanding burn at any time as conditions change.
Permits are still only required for fires larger than two metres in width, length or height, as long as a fire ban is not in effect for the area.
The change to the permit conditions comes as a number of bushfires have raged in the South Burnett throughout the week of 22 September. At time of writing fires are burning in the Bunya Mountains, at Mount Binga, MP Creek and Speedwell, while the North Burnett region is also experiencing several bushfires.
The QFD has issued ‘Stay Informed’ and ‘Avoid Smoke’ warnings for several of the fires.
