Aaron Bunch Journalist with Australian Associated Press | Collection of published work | + 61 484 008 119 | abunch@aap.com.au
Conditions ease for Qld firefighters
Weak easterly winds bringing cooler, humid air should help firefighters battling more than 90 bushfires, however, severe weather is forecast to return.
November 18, 2019
Cooler conditions may give firefighters a break as they battle more than 90 bushfires across Queensland but severe weather looks set to return midweek.
The most challenging blazes are at Ravensbourne and Esk, near Toowoomba, and Tarome in the Scenic Rim, where residents have been forced from their homes.
Campers were also evacuated late on Sunday from the path of a dangerous fire on Moreton Island, off Brisbane, ahead of an expected wind change.
Weakening winds on Monday should see fire weather conditions ease back from severe to very high, the Bureau of Meteorology says.
“It’s still elevated but it’s obviously a big improvement from the extremes of (Sunday),” meteorologist Jess Garner told AAP.
“The wind direction is switching from a westerly, where it brings hot dry air, to an easterly, where it’s cooler and more humid.”
Temperatures will also fall, however, the fire danger looks set to remain at very high for most of the week.
It could become severe on the Darling Downs on Wednesday, with Toowoomba forecast to reach 35C.
On Moreton Island, a wind change overnight could challenge firefighters as it shifts from north to south.
“But moving into tomorrow we should see the wind on a decreasing trend throughout the day,” Ms Gardner said.