Aaron Bunch Journalist with Australian Associated Press | Collection of published work | + 61 484 008 119 | abunch@aap.com.au

Aaron Bunch
Bushfires threatening Qld’s Broken River

Residents are evacuating as a large bushfire heads towards the town of Broken River, west of Mackay.

November 29, 2018

Broken River has been ringed by fire for days but now residents are being told to leave as wildfire races towards the tiny Queensland community best known as a place to view platypus.

The rural community of just 22 people was told just before noon to evacuate eastwards towards Eungella, about five kilometres away.

Eungella Chalet manager Tess Ford says the town and surrounding rainforest has been ringed by fire for days but the Broken River blaze is a fresh outbreak.

“It’s rainforest, mate and it’s all burning … we’ve got two big fires coming in the back of us, there’s the other one coming up the range on the left-hand side, there’s another one coming up on the right-hand side,” she told AAP on Thursday.

Ms Ford said the Broken River fire was now “creeping into the gully” next to Eungella.

“We got fire trucks, we got water tankers, we got firies all around us,” she said.

“We just need (the wind) to stay westerly and (the fire) will creep along (in the gully).”

The blaze is travelling southwest from Eungella National Park, west of Mackay.

Fire conditions are slightly better than they were on Wednesday when they were listed as catastrophic.

But authorities say Queensland’s bushfire crisis is far from over, with days of hot, dry conditions ahead.

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