People in the small Queensland town of Ballandean have been told to leave as firefighters battle another bushfire in the Granite Belt amid a “nightmare” fire crisis.
They were told to evacuate or follow their bushfire plan this afternoon because a fast and dangerous fire was heading their way. Officials have warned the blaze could have a significant impact on the community, and say moving people out while the sun is up is easier and safer than doing so in the dead of night.
It was heading in a north easterly direction from the New England Highway towards Girraween and expected to impact Rees road, Eukey road and Pyramids road tonight. An evacuation centre is open at the Ballandean Hall and Sports Club. Residents have described the fire crisis as a nightmare that won’t end.
“I’m packed. But I’m on the opposite side of the highway, safe for now,” Jacqueline Blake wrote on Facebook.
Ballandean State School is one of six in bushfire impacted areas that will be closed tomorrow. The township is a short drive south of the border town of Stanthorpe, where crews have contained another fire that has so far burnt through about 2000 hectares of land.
Residents there have used their own tank water to fend off the fire because above ground water supplies were due to run out by the end of the year unless there was more rain. Some have lost their homes, while other properties have been damaged. Crews managed to bring that fire under control by bringing in heavy machinery and digging a 20-metre containment line, but strong and dry gusts have threatened further havoc.
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