Unseasonably warm, windy and dry conditions fuelling fires are not tipped to ease until later in the week

This article is more than 11 months old

This article is more than 11 months old

Residents have been told it is too late to leave several bushfire-threatened communities in northern New South Wales and Queensland’s Lockyer Valley, as extreme high temperatures and dangerous conditions fuel a series of fast-moving blazes on Tuesday afternoon.

The ABC was reporting vision of a house destroyed by fire in the Queensland town of Laidley, between Ipswich and Toowoomba.

Josh Bavas (@JoshBavas) A house has been destroyed by fire in the Lockyer Valley town of Laidley. Fire crews still battling the blaze. pic.twitter.com/p1QM3KhaF1

Residents in Laidley and the neighbouring town of Grandchester were told it was too dangerous to leave, as the fire front approached, propelled by extreme hot, dry and windy conditions.

There were 20 fires burning across Queensland in unseasonably hot and windy weather, including several in the central part of the state.

Meteorologist Kimba Wong said warm, windy and dry conditions in the state’s south-east and central areas could remain until Wednesday.

It has been an unusually early start to the fire season in Queensland, where the subtropical humidity typically acts to suppress the progress of fires.

Fire warnings as temperatures to reach 40C in NSW and Queensland Read more

Last month, fires burned into 440 hectares of subtropical rainforest in Queensland.

At Amberley RAAF Base, close to where the most serious Queensland fires were burning, a top temperature of 41.1C was recorded early on Tuesday afternoon. At Dalby, in the Darling Downs, the mercury tipped 39C.

In NSW, residents in communities south of Casino were told it was too late to leave. The fire there had crossed the Summerland Way and already burned through 4,200 hectares of bushland.

Similar emergency warnings were issued for fires burning near the communities of Drake and Tenterfield. Residents were advised to seek shelter.

The NSW Rural Fire Service warned winds were blowing embers ahead of the fire fronts, creating spot fires that were threatening properties before the main fire front arrived.

Earlier in the day the RFS spokesman Greg Allan said conditions were not tipped to ease until later in the week. A high temperature of 39.4C was recorded at Casino about 2pm.

“We’re probably not going to see any reprieve until tomorrow,” Allan said.

“We’ve been seeing very strong westerly winds pushing that fire towards the east, still very high temperatures and very low humidity.”

The RFS tweeted: “Make sure you and your family know what you will do if fire threatens. Ask yourself – when will you go, what will you take and where will you go?”

Despite a cooler weather forecast for northern NSW from midweek – with temperatures expected to drop to the mid-20s – continued dry conditions meant fire dangers would not immediately fall away, meteorologist Jonathan How said.

“With no significant rainfall, fire dangers will remain high to very high until at least the end of the week,” he said.