A heat warning is in place for large parts of Queensland on Wednesday with temperatures hitting 40C in parts of the state.
The Bureau of Meteorology issued a heatwave warning for much of the state, forecasting severe conditions around north-west and inland areas.
At midday Mount Isa hit 40C, Longreach hit 41C and Richmond hit 42C. Brisbane hit a high of 31C.
On Tuesday more than 500 people were forced to flee Dirranbandi, six hours west of Brisbane, as two fast-moving grassfires threatened the township on Tuesday night.
Only about 45 residents chose to stay in the area located near the Queensland-NSW border after a “leave immediately” notice was issued about 8pm AEST on Tuesday.
As of Wednesday morning, about 80 people had arrived at an evacuation centre set up at nearby St George.
Queensland police also declared an emergency declaration under the Public Safety Preservation Act, assisting with the evacuation on Tuesday night.
BoM senior meteorologist Miriam Bradbury said a wind change was expected on Thursday, which is when fire behaviour can become erratic.
“It’s definitely going to be hot and potentially a bit breezy today,” she said. “Those conditions are not changing too much until we see that wind change coming through tomorrow.”
A spokesperson for the Queensland Fire and Emergency Service said on Wednesday morning that no injuries or deaths and no property loss had been reported so far.
The wind was likely to become gusty on Thursday, but there was no sign of the end of the state’s heatwave, with even higher top temperatures expected.
“And it’s more likely they’ll see thunderstorms in the area on the Thursday. Best case scenario we’ll see some some rainfall and help contain the fire, but probably more likely, we’ll just create some gusty winds without much rainfall,” bureau meteorologist Shane Kennedy said.
The heatwave is unlikely to break before the weekend, he said, and may persist in northern parts of the state into next week.
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Around 422 residents in the Balonne shire have lost their power supply due to damage to power lines. Ergon Energy said it also cut supply to the area on Tuesday night to minimise electrical dangers.
On Wednesday morning the company said it was gaining clearance for its helicopter to begin assessing damage along the main power line feeding into Dirranbandi.
“Due to the distances being covered, it will be mid-morning until we know the extent of the damage, and we can then start repairing the network,” it wrote on Facebook.
On Wednesday there was an extreme fire danger rating for the Channel Country region in far west Queensland, with gusty north-westerly winds combining with hot and dry temperatures.
Bradbury said Queenslanders shouldn’t treat the conditions as “just another hot day”.
“Even though Queenslanders are used to a bit of hot weather, this is unusually hot for an unusual amount of time,” she said.
There was also an extreme fire danger rating and total fire ban in place for the Mallee district in Victoria. VicEmergency said fires could “spread quickly and be extremely dangerous” in these conditions, with maximum temperatures between 33C and 38C forecast.
– with AAP
