Firefighters are bracing for extreme conditions as they battle a deadly blaze west of Brisbane for a second week.
There was some reprieve on Monday for fatigued crews trying to contain the Western Downs fire thanks to milder conditions.
However, an extreme fire danger on Tuesday is forecast for the Darling Downs and Granite Belt area where the Tara blaze continues to threaten houses.
The fire has already claimed one life and destroyed almost 50 houses in the past week, at one stage forcing hundreds to evacuate their homes.
It is one of 80 fires burning in Queensland but relief fire crews from Victoria and New Zealand are being brought in to help fight the blazes.
Overall, there have been 900 fires across the state in the past 10 days.
Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) acting deputy commissioner Joanne Greenfield said Tuesday was going to be a day of extreme fire danger rating, particularly in the Darling Downs area and the Granite Belt.
“It means when fire gets on the ground it will be quite hard to control. To help us with that we’ve put in fire bans across the state.”
Total fire bans are in place for 64 of Queensland’s 77 local government areas ahead of Tuesday’s scorcher, with high temperatures and strong winds forecast.
High fire dangers are predicted throughout the state’s west.
Ms. Greenfield says fire crews have done “an amazing job” working through the night to build containment lines using heavy machinery.
“We hope it’s put us in a good place. As we know, once the conditions come in it can be unpredictable and fires can break over the lines,” she told ABC TV on Tuesday.
QFES acting assistant commissioner Peter Hollier said it was hoped there would be some reprieve in conditions on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.
“However, there will still be high fire dangers particularly in the western parts of the state,” he said.
“It’s very critical that people are aware of their circumstances, they are heeding the warning, they have a plan, they know what to do, where to go and who to contact.”
Interstate crews are on their way to help, with 12 fire trucks from Victoria expected.
Incident management teams and air attack supervisors will also join local crews.
Hundreds of people were forced to flee their homes on the Western Downs, with about 300 arriving at evacuation centres at Dalby and Chinchilla.
That number was down to 49 on Monday as people started to return to their homes.
But some will need alternative accommodation after losing everything in the Tara fire that has reportedly burned more than 20,000 hectares.
Damage assessments have revealed 46 homes have been destroyed.
Western Downs residents were still being told to evacuate with the fire threatening on the northern front late on Monday.
