An unseasonably dry winter in Australia that many had already warned was going to pose a more severe fire risk has seen the Australian bushfire season start earlier than usual in the country’s northeast.
At least 50 major fires are currently burning in Queensland and New South Wales that have already caused multiple evacuations and at least 20 property losses over the last 48 hours.
Local news sources in Australia are reporting that the fires currently burning throughout the state of Queensland are the worst start to the fire season on record, referring to the path of the fire as a “catastrophic” path of destruction through the state.
Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) Assistant Commissioner Kevin Walsh stated that the blazes destroying homes were ferocious fires in the worst conditions he’d ever seen.
“Firefighters stood side by side battling wind gusts of up to 90km/h,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything as bad as that.
QFES predictive services inspector Andrew Sturgess said the state had never before seen such serious bushfire conditions, so early in spring.
He confirmed there are over 400 firefighters on the ground and a mix of 30 different aircraft including helicopters, LAT’s and SEAT aircraft all battling the blazes.
Story image supplied by TracPlus. You can find their website by clicking HERE
