Sunshine Coast bushfires treated as suspicious after third blaze in three months

Updated

Police say it's too early to know whether they're dealing with a serial arsonist following another bushfire in the Peregian region yesterday but have confirmed the last two fires are being treated as suspicious.

Key points: The cause of yesterday's blaze and a previous fire at Peregian in October are under investigation

The fire had "multiple ignition points", according to QFES

The Sunshine Motorway from Emu Mountain Road and Murdering Creek Road to Peregian Springs remains closed



Hundreds of Peregian Springs, Lake Weyba and Weyba Downs residents were forced to evacuate around 3:00pm on Wednesday after a fire flared in bushland near Peregian Springs Drive — the third fire in as many months in the area.

The cause of yesterday's blaze and a previous fire at Peregian in October are still under investigation.

Two teenagers were arrested and charged with lighting a fire at Peregian Springs in September.

Maroochydore Acting Fire Inspector Geoff Hunter said police and fire investigators will return to the scene of the fire today to try to determine how it started.

"When we came it was in bushland here but fire investigators will follow that up and find the exact point of origin and they'll do that through research and first responding crews and first calls to triple zero," he said.

Acting Superintendent Jon Lewis said it was too early to say whether they were dealing with a serial arsonist but both yesterday's fire and the October fire were being treated as suspicious.

"I heard mention that the previous fires had some concerning attributes to them and we will certainly be doing whatever we can to identify the evidence if there is any over the next day or so," Acting Superintendent Lewis said.

"It angers me, it's frustrating because the people of Peregian … they don't need this and the anguish that this causes people, let alone the damage, is horrendous and it's irresponsible if people are deliberately lighting these fires."

He said "human intervention" had been determined on both recent fires but it was not clear if that was deliberate or accidental.

"I understand there were a number of people seen in the area yesterday afternoon and the residents have been extremely helpful in providing some footage," he said.

Queensland Fire and Emergency Service (QFES) and council crews will remain onsite today to clean up the area and mitigate re-ignitions.

The teams on site are back burning and building a firebreak to protect homes.

Mount Maria battle continues

QFES said firefighters at Lowmead, north of Bundaberg, hoped to contain the Mount Maria bushfire within the next 24 hours.

Three homes and five sheds have been destroyed and authorities said at least one of the families impacted is uninsured.

About 50 rapid damage assessments have been completed in the Lowmead area, where about 6,000 hectares of bushland has been burnt.

About 20 fire crews are working in "erratic" fire conditions, supported by four fixed-wing aircraft and two rotary aircraft.

Gladstone Regional Council is working with the Department of Communities to support affected residents.

The council has paid for hotel accommodation for displaced families at the Rosedale and Miriam Vale hotels.

'People need to educate themselves'

QFES Sunshine Coast Superintendent Michelle Young has made a public plea for fire bugs to stop.

"Please stop if that is happening," she said.

"I hope that's not the case, but if it is people really need to educate themselves about what sort of danger they're putting their community in.

"Because there were multiple ignition points, it does look that way, but at the moment that has not been confirmed."

Peregian Springs aged care worker Loretta McKillop urged people to remember the elderly during emergencies.

"We've seen some pretty horrific fires, so everyone's prepared and ready," she said.

"I think it's nerve racking for all of us, but it's harder when you don't have the ability to stand up or run.

"That's why they have services out there for [the elderly] — nobody will get left behind."

Fire crews will conduct back burning today and monitor for any further flare ups, with conditions expected to be more favourable today.

"Overnight we've had some cooler conditions but still of great concern, we're going to see high temperatures again," Superintendent Young said.

"So we're going to have aircraft in the air again this morning doing some mapping for us.

"We can't take our foot off the pedal. Hopefully the wind stays nice and low today and we have a win."

The Coolum Civic Centre Evacuation Centre has now closed but the Sunshine Motorway from Emu Mountain Road and Murdering Creek Road to Peregian Springs remains closed.

Topics: bushfire, fires, disasters-and-accidents, emergency-incidents, emergency-planning, maroochydore-4558, qld, brisbane-4000

First posted