Residents told to evacuate as bushfire rages at Beerwah and Glass House Mountains

Residents of a rural town in central Queensland have been told to ‘leave immediately’ as a fast-moving bushfire burns its way towards people and homes, putting ‘lives at risk’.

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services issued a warning to Emerald residents about 1.15pm on Sunday, saying the alert area included homes along Selma Road between Emerald and Fairbairn Dam Road.

A second fire is burning in the Glass House Mountains National Park near Beerwah on the Sunshine Coast.

The warning area also included Fairbairn State Forest and residents were told to leave immediately, the agency said.

‘There is a fast-moving fire near (Fairbairn) State Forest. This is expected to impact Selma Road within the next few hours,” the alert said.

‘Your life could be in danger. It will soon be too dangerous to drive.”

Firefighting aircraft were deployed to help crews on the ground control the fire.

The service warned people in Emerald to call triple zero if their lives were in danger, and not to expect a firefighter at their door.

Power, water and cell phone services could soon stop working, smoke would make it difficult to see and breathe, and it would be hot and loud with possible explosions nearby, the agency said.

It warned people to check for road closures before setting out via the QLD Traffic website and said if they did not leave they could be isolated.

Those who could not leave safely were advised to find a safe shelter, preferably in a brick building, and close the vents.

A QFES spokesperson described the Emerald fire as a ‘large grass fire’ of approximately 2km in size and that 10 crews were battling the blaze.

Another five crews were dispatched at 2 p.m.

At 1.54pm another warning was issued of a ‘rapidly moving’ fire in the Glass House Mountains National Park.

The fire was expected to reach Mawsons Road ‘within the hour’. The warning area also includes Holt Road.

More to come…