By Jeremy Cook
Authorities are remaining vigilant after lightning strikes sparked upwards of two dozen fires across the Southern Downs region keeping firefighters busy through to the early hours of Friday morning.
Fire activity kicked off at about midday on Thursday 26 October when crews rushed to reports of several small grass fires south of Stanthorpe following a spate of lightning strikes.
The resulting blazes, some of which burned to as late as 4am the next morning, were mostly centred around the Granite Belt region.
Fires at Severnlea and Thorndale were some of the first to be reported. Other affected areas included Ballandean, Wallangarra, Cottonvale and Glen Aplin.
Granite Belt Rural Fire Brigade’s Chief Fire Warden Pedro Curr said just about every crew throughout the district were called to respond.
“They were all over the place,” he said.
“They went right through to Warwick too.
“All the ones in our area that might be smoking a bit, they’re under control.”
Mr Curr said some fires proved particularly tricky to control.
“They’re just in some places where you can’t get to,” he said.
“We had one we couldn’t get to without doing a controlled burn around it.
“[We] had to burn 100 acres around it just to get it out.”
A fire ban issued for the Southern Downs will remain in place until 11.59pm on Friday 27 October.
The Bureau of Meteorology is expected to downgrade its fire danger rating to “moderate” for the weekend, before raising it to “high” on Monday in anticipation of winds as strong as 30km/h.
Chari of the Local Disaster Management Group and Southern Downs Mayor Vic Pennisi said he was not ready to hit the “panic button”, but was remaining vigilant.
“We’re as prepared as we’ve ever been, Cr Pennisi said.
“We’ve got great systems in place and we’ve got great people [who] keep us safe ,” he said.
“More importantly, we have an absolute army of volunteers that selflessly stand up when the need arises.
“So that gives me a level of comfort, knowing that whatever is thrown at us, we’ve got great infrastructure and manpower to deal with it.”
Authorities warned the challenge for emergency services heading into the warmer months will be the threat posed by dry conditions and high fuel loads.
According to the Bureau, Stanthorpe recorded just 10mm of rain in October with the majority of that falling across one 24-hour period at the beginning of the month.
Similar totals were recorded up north in Warwick where just 7mm of rain fell throughout the past month.
“People just have to be extra cautious,” Cr Pennisi said.
“Even parking your vehicle in long grass could kick one off.”
