"The fire poses a threat to all lives directly in its path," Queensland Fire and Emergency Services warned. "Fire crews may not be able to protect your property. You should not expect a firefighter at your door: shelter now. "Water and mobile phone service may be lost. Power has been lost in the Stanthorpe township and Ergon are assessing the situation." The approaching fire is one of the two most serious among more than 70 burning across Queensland. The other major blaze forced evacuations and destroyed a home in the Gold Coast hinterland on Friday afternoon.

A Queensland Fire and Emergency Services alert urged residents not to try to leave the area as driving would be extremely dangerous. "People in the area are in imminent danger and need to seek shelter now to survive," the alert said. "Do not attempt to leave the area. Driving now would be extremely dangerous and potentially deadly. If you are not in the area, do not return." Murray Gardens Cottages and Motel assistant manager Kerry Edminston said her 24 guests had been evacuated to the fitness centre and she was waiting to go.

"It's right beside us but luckily the wind is blowing away from us," she said at 7pm. "The sky is gold, and not in a good way." Southern Downs mayor Tracy Dobbie said a bushfire had taken out a substation and much of Stanthorpe was without power. "It's moved very quickly," Cr Dobbie said of the fire. But Ergon Energy appeared to suggest a possibly different explanation for the outage.

"Ergon Energy has de-energised more than 6500 customers in the Warwick and Stanthorpe regions for public safety due to bush fires," the company said, about 7.45pm. "Crews have been sent from the area while emergency services fight the fire but will return and restore power when it's safe." An unattended bed-and-breakfast was also under threat from the blaze. Cr Dobbie said residents had been following the directions from firefighters and police, which were to stay in place. Queensland Fire and Emergency Services said no one should leave Stanthorpe because driving would be potentially deadly.

Cr Dobbie said some people had already evacuated but there were still many there, sheltering in their homes, due to the speed at which the fire descended upon them. The Darling Downs and Granite Belt districts were on alert as fire danger mounted this week. Drought conditions were so bad many dams had run dry, Cr Dobbie said. "Most rural residents don't have any water in their dams to fight a fire," she said. Many people were sheltering in an evacuation centre that was opened at the Stanthorpe Fitness Centre on Talc Street.

The Bureau of Meteorology said strong gusty winds, temperatures in the mid-30s and very low humidity were creating the very dangerous conditions. Cooler conditions are forecast in coming days but the fire danger will remain high until the middle of next week. - With AAP