Queensland bushfires
Queensland residents battle fierce blazes – and brace themselves for what’s to come
WITH MORE THAN 70 BLAZES raging across Queensland, from rural Stanthorpe to the densely populated Sunshine Coast – as well as fires in New South Wales — this year’s Australian bushfire season has already been catastrophic. “What we’re seeing, it’s just not within people’s imagination,” Queensland’s former fire commissioner Lee Johnson told The Guardian on September 9. “They just didn’t believe it could ever get so bad.” And it’s only predicted to get worse. “This is an omen, if you will,” warned Fire and Emergency Services’ predictive services
inspector, Andrew Sturgess, in a press conference. “A warning of the fire season that we are likely to see in south-eastern parts of the state where most of the population is.”
On September 8, an eerie red glow filled the sky as firefighters tried to contain a blaze on the Sunshine Coast which had already led to hundreds of residents being forced to go to evacuation centres. At time of print, at least 10 homes were lost in Peregian Beach as Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the government would provide disaster recovery aid for those affected. Police have warned anyone caught deliberately lighting fires faces life imprisonment.
Queensland’s acting premier, Jackie Trad, said climate change meant the state was facing a new era of fire risks. “What the scientists tell us is that events such as these will be more frequent and they will be much more ferocious,” she told reporters.
Federal Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese was in step, warning the danger was “not all over” as Queensland braced for the “most catastrophic fire season in history. The forecast points towards an ominous spring and summer coming up,” he said. “We just hope that the worst of predictions do not come true.” •