Thursday evening, 26 October, the region was met with fast moving dry lightning storms which started multiple fires across the North Burnett. After what feels like a very long few days and no doubt a long road ahead, we have a lot to be thankful for, and I’m reminded once again of how strong our community is.
I would like to personally thank the Local Disaster Management Group agencies, in particular Queensland Fire and Emergency Service – QFES (Rural Fire Service, Fire and Rescue Service, State Emergency Service), who are the lead agency for fire response. Thank you to the rural and urban fire fighters, Queensland Police Service (QPS), Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS), SES, Council employees, businesses, landholders, community members and everyone who have worked tirelessly since Thursday evening in the face of fire.
Multiple fires are still burning across the region and new fires can easily start. The main fires of concern across our region are still being responded to by QFES. As you are aware, fire conditions can change very quickly. QFES has asked if anyone notices new smoke to report it immediately to 000.
The forecast outlook does not look favourable over the coming days so the LDMG will remain at Stand Up to support QFES and our communities. Please remember that there are 66 local governments in a local fire ban, this includes the North Burnett. Please do not light fires or take unnecessary risks.
Should QFES order any ‘Leave Now’ notifications, Council has emergency plans in place for evacuation centres – these will also be posted on our Emergency Dashboard and shared on our Facebook page.
Can I encourage those that are not in impacted areas to review your bushfire survival plan, if you don’t have one then now is a good time to put one in place. The QFES website have templates you can create your own plan from.
We have activated the LDMG Recovery Sub-Group to support the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries to identify the impact across our region via the DAF Agriculture Disaster Impact Survey. I acknowledge that there are still several areas that are being impacted by fire so when you are safe and able, please register your area of impact. The survey can be found under the recovery information tab on the Emergency Management Dashboard.
You can stay up to date by monitoring Councils Emergency Management Dashboard found at: emergency.northburnett.qld.gov.au and QFES current bushfire warnings and incidents found at: qfes.qld.gov.au/incident-dashboard.
If you come across road damage or any other danger to the community, please report it to 1300 696 272 or 000.
Again, my sincere thank you to everyone who has supported our region so far, and more updates and recovery information will be provided as they come to hand.