Two bushfires set to merge in Queensland within days
Two fires about 4km apart in the Lockyer Valley will merge within two days, threatening five homes.
Firefighters in southeast Queensland are racing to contain two major bushfires before they merge. The blazes at Murphy's Creek and Seventeen Mile have already scorched about 1,600 hectares of bush and farmland since last week.
A Queensland Fire Department deputy warned the fires would turn uphill and accelerate toward nearby properties. Five homes at Murphy's Creek are directly threatened.
More than 100 firefighters, 30 crews and five waterbombing aircraft are fighting the blazes. A Canadian air tanker can drop about 11,000 litres of fire retardant at a time.
Extremely dry conditions and wind gusts up to 25 kilometres an hour are making the blazes harder to control. Storms are forecast but could bring dry lightning strikes instead of rainfall.
- 4 kilometres apart
- Distance between fires
- 1600 hectares
- Area scorched
- 5 at Murphy's Creek
- Homes threatened
- 11,000 litres
- Retardant per drop
Why it mattersHomes face imminent danger as the fires accelerate, and families in the region need to be ready to evacuate.
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