Two homes have been destroyed by fires, an emergency has been declared and a town told to seek shelter from bushfires raging in Queensland.

September 6, 2019

Two homes have been destroyed and a town is without power as bushfires raging across Queensland threaten lives and property.

The border town of Stanthorpe was without power on Friday evening as people took shelter from the blaze on its outskirts.

They were warned they were in imminent peril at 5:30pm and urged to seek shelter to survive.

Murray Gardens motel’s assistant manager Kerry Edminston said their 24 guests had been evacuated to the fitness centre and she was waiting to go.

“It’s right beside us but luckily the wind is blowing away from us,” she told AAP at 7pm.

“The sky is gold, and not in a good way.”

Southern Downs mayor Tracy Dobbie told AAP a bushfire has taken out a substation and Stanthorpe was without power. 

It is one of the worst ever starts to Queensland’s bushfire season with more than 60 burning the length of the state on Friday.  

Two homes have been destroyed by fire.

In the Scenic Rim, inland from the Gold Coast, one house was lost to a dangerous fire that is still raging between Sarabah and Canungra.

Police declared an emergency at Canunga in the afternoon, saying the dangerous fire was posing a threat to all lives in its path.

One house was lost to the fire between Sarabah and Canungra, where people were told to get out about 4pm.

Scenic Rim mayor Greg Christensen says that fire is unpredictable with steep and difficult terrain and strong winds.

Friday evening would be the “determining period” for how serious it might get, he said.

Ferny Glen local Greg Hinchcliffe says more fires were starting from the embers landing in grassland.

“It’s pretty bad. A lady up the road just lost her house,” Mr Hinchcliffe said.

“The embers up in the air are hard to keep on top of, it takes off quick.”

More and more warnings were issued throughout the day but some were later downgraded as conditions improved.

Another fire worrying emergency services was at Harkwood, some 200km west of Bundaburg. 

The first house lost to the bushfires was near Mareeba in a fast-moving grassfire on Thursday.

That fire started close to the house and moved so quickly it was lost before crews arrived. 

Drought-hit communities in the Maranoa and Warrego and the Darling Downs and Granite Belt districts have been anxious for days as fire conditions moved to extreme.

Southern Downs mayor Tracy Dobbie says her area is bone dry and most locals didn’t have enough water in their dams to fight a fire.

She said some people had left Stanthorpe before the seek shelter warning on Friday.

But the fire came so fast many were left behind, sheltering in their homes or the fitness centre.

The fire was impacting Glenlyon Drive and Amiens Road at 5:30 pm and raging towards Nelson Crescent, McLeod Court, and Michelle Road in Happy Valley.

Many people are sheltering in an evacuation centre that was opened at the Stanthorpe Fitness Centre on Talc Street.

The Bureau of Meteorology said strong gusty winds, temperatures in the mid-30s and very low humidity were creating very dangerous conditions.

Cooler conditions are forecast in coming days but the fire danger will remain high until the middle of next week.