Man dies during Qld's bushfire crisis
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A Central Queensland man has died while clearing a firebreak on his family’s property south of Emerald, as the state marks the start of summer with an ongoing bushfire crisis.
Police say emergency services were called to the Rolleston property at 7.30pm on Friday.
The man, 21, appeared to have been trying to cut down a tree with a chainsaw, when it fell and trapped him.
Three other men on the site tried to rescue the man, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has extended her sympathies to the man’s family, and says the tragedy highlights the serious danger the bushfires present, and the courage of those fighting them.
My heartfelt sympathies go out to a Rolleston family after the death of their son. The 21yr old was killed by a falling tree while clearing a fire break on the family property.
This tragedy brings home the serious dangers of the bushfires and the courage of those fighting them.— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) December 1, 2018
Ms Palaszczuk is in Finch Hatton, west of Mackay on Saturday, visiting a local command centre.
On Friday, 10 women and children were airlifted to safety from the nearby Eungella State Forest as the conditions suddenly changed and the fire flared out of control.
Temperatures are expected to build over the next four to five days, with the maximum to peak on Monday.
A local fire ban was issued for the Brisbane region until the end of Sunday.
And a fire ban for parts of southwest Queensland, including Toowoomba, the Southern and Western Downs and the Maranoa areas, was extended to the end of Tuesday.
After almost a week of severe fire danger, QFES Commissioner Katarina Carroll says the difficult and challenging conditions will persist.
“We are not out of the woods,” she said.
“We’ve got a heatwave still with us for the next four days. We’ve got thunderstorms that interfere with how the fire spreads …We have never seen this in our state before.”
Police say they have found no evidence of arson involved in these fires, many of which were sparked in extreme heatwave conditions.
But two men have been arrested for allegedly attempting to start fires near Rockhampton in two separate incidents on Thursday and Friday.
Evacuated residents are desperate to return to their homes, but have been warned it is still not safe for them to return.
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