A massive bushfire that has destroyed homes and sent 1500 people fleeing continues to rage amid catastrophic conditions in Queensland's Deepwater region but most people have managed to escape.
The firestorm between Gladstone and Bundaberg has destroyed four houses, razed other structures and thousands of hectares of bush and farmland, but some locals have ignored urgent orders to leave.
State disaster coordinator Bob Gee warned them early on Wednesday that the blaze was extremely dangerous and the fire risk was at catastrophic level for the first time ever.
People who thought they could tough out the blaze were risking their lives, and the lives of others, he said.
"People will burn to death. Their normal approaches probably won't work if this situation develops the way it is predicted to develop," Mr Gee said.
"You are playing Russian roulette. If you have children with you, you need to think really hard about not losing a house but losing the people you care most about."
Around 1000 people were evacuated from Deepwater and surrounds.
But some 50 properties and their residents had been holding out on Wednesday morning, mostly in the Rules Beach area. It is not known how many remain.
There was a chance to leave early, but as the day wore on the only road exit out of the area, the Hills Road Bridge, was eventually cut off.
The SES began ferrying people across Baffle Creek, with handfuls of people showing up with pets and belongings.
One of the major holdouts has been the Baffle Creek Caravan Park, with operator Sally Ehrlich relatively calm about their ability to ride out the firestorm.
The park was a safe haven and rallying point throughout the day, but by late afternoon just a few people remained, and Ms Ehrlich said they would wait till the last minute before taking their own boat across the creek.
She has no intention of going to one of the evacuation centres at Agnes Water or Miriam Vale.
"No we'll just stay behind the boat. Take our swags and camp on the ground," Ms Erhlich told AAP.
"We're not going to be lighting any fires to cook dinner but we'll probably take a sandwich or something."
Early Wednesday evening some 150 people from the Rules beach area remained unaccounted for, but authorities said that could be because they are yet to register at an evacuation centre.
Around 150 firefighters spent the day battling the inferno, assisted by a number of waterbombing aircraft, including the massive 'Gaia' waterbomber from NSW which can dump 15,000 litres at a time.
The unprecedented weather conditions are expected to ease slightly on Thursday.
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