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Fire threatens Qld community of Winfield

A Queensland community to the south of Baffle Creek is now in the firing line, with Winfield residents told to leave immediately as a large fire heads that way.

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Source: AAP


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Residents of the central Queensland town of Winfield have been told to leave after a fire that's been threatening homes in the Deepwater region for days jumped a waterway and began moving south.

Queensland fire authorities issued an alert at 11.45am AEST that a large, unpredictable bushfire was travelling south towards the town.

They urged people to leave as soon as possible because roads could be quickly cut off as the fire approaches.

The fire is connected to the Deepwater blaze, which has kept authorities busy since Saturday with residents of Deepwater, Rules Beach and Baffle Creek told to evacuate on Wednesday.

Some escaped over Baffle Creek itself, with the SES ferrying people along with belongings and pets to the southern shore where some made their way to evacuation centres.

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Now the south bank of the creek is itself in the firing line, with embers travelling up to 2km ahead of the fire front, sparking a fresh blaze on Thursday morning which is now threatening Winfield.

The evacuation is not mandatory at this stage, however, authorities are warning people to only stay in place if they have a proper bushfire plan.

Conditions on Wednesday are slightly more favourable than Wednesday when fire conditions were officially rated as "catastrophic" for the first time in the state's history.

But hot, dry winds with above-average temperatures will make controlling bushfires difficult.

About 1500 people were told to evacuate from various locations due to the Deepwater blaze.

It is now burning within containment lines, although residents are yet to get an all clear to return to their homes.

The Winfield warning is separate to other warnings current for Mullet Creek and Euleilah, and Deepwater, Baffle Creek, Rules Beach and Oyster Creek.


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