A fast-moving blaze had destroyed a house in Far North Queensland as firefighters in the state's south brace for dire fire conditions.
Water-bombing aircraft are on standby with severe to extreme fire warnings issued for southern, southeast and central Queensland on Friday.
Authorities have warned conditions could reach the highest catastrophic rating in some parts inland areas in the state's south.
High temperatures, strong winds and low humidity mean firefighters will face an extremely challenging day, with drought-stricken communities in the south on edge as dams are there are dry.
Extreme Fire Danger is forecast for the following forecast districts:
The Maranoa and Warrego and the Darling Downs and Granite Belt districts are facing extreme fire danger.
⚠️ #Fire Weather Warning issued for Central Highlands & Coalfields, Maranoa & Warrego, Darling Downs & Granite Belt, Wide Bay & Burnett, and Southeast Coast tomorrow. Warning details: https://t.co/rcvhExmec0; stay tuned to @QldFES for fire bans and further #bushfire info. pic.twitter.com/A7RQvguQQY — Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland (@BOM_Qld) September 5, 2019
Severe fire danger warnings are in place for the central highlands and coalfields district, Wide Bay and Burnett, and the southeast coast.
Three grassfires have kept crews busy near Mareeba, west of Cairns, with one home lost at Biboohra on Thursday.
"The house was very close to where the fire started. It moved very quickly and before crews got there the house was lost," a fire service spokesman told AAP.
"The family is safe."
Former Queensland Fire Commissioner Lee Johnson told SBS News the conditions are unusual for this time of year.
"This is a result of long-term drought, a very dry winter, vegetation that is the fuel, is extremely dry and a combination of hot north-westerly winds coming through both Southern Queensland and Northern NSW, result in fire danger ratings of extreme to severe in many parts," he said.
"The climate has affected our weather patterns, there is no doubt in my mind about that. In Queensland bushfire was really a more secondary risk. The main states were NSW and Victoria where bushfires were very common and very notorious. QLD was more focused on cyclones, floods and storms, but after the fires of last year, there is a big change happening."
Two other grassfires in the Mareeba area continue to burn, one at Irvinebank, the other at Dimbulah.
A fire that has menaced residents at Sarabah, near Canungra, in the Scenic Rim region west of the Gold Coast, is also continuing to burn.
A watch and act warning remains current for residents near that blaze. Crews also had to work had to get on top of another fire that broke out near Canungra's Kokoda Barracks on Thursday afternoon.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says emergency services are well prepared, with aircraft were on standby.
But she pleaded with residents to listen to the advice of local fire crews, and to prepare for the worsening conditions.
With AAP...
