PREMIER Annastacia Palaszczuk has visited North Stradbroke Island to thank weary firefighters, police, volunteers and support crew for their tireless efforts in response to bushfire.
Emergency and disaster services worked around the contain the blaze, sparked by lightning on Wednesday last week at Eighteen Mile Swamp.
The fire ravaged more than 3200 hectares of the island, with more than 250 firefighters, police and support crew from other agencies helping efforts to keep people safe and manage the blaze.
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The coordinated containment of active fire fronts meant no townships were threatened by the bushfires but people were warned about billowing smoke, which was carried to nearby SMBIs and the mainland earlier this week.
Water was doused onto flames by helicopters and 22,000 litres of firefighting foam dropped from above as winds threatened to fan embers across to nearby Southern Moreton Bay Islands.
As state authorities dealt with bushfires across Queensland, firefighters from South Australia, Tasmania, Western Australia and Victoria were deployed to Straddie to help containment efforts.
Premier Palaszczuk, who visited Straddie on Wednesday, on Twitter extended her gratitude to all people who helped out as bushfires raged across Queensland.
Heatwave temperatures and dry conditions mixed to create very high to catastrophic fire dangers across Queensland late last month, continued into early December.
Bushfire burnt across more than a million hectares of land causing losses for communities, primary producers and the environment.
“Although Queensland has not experienced a bushfire of this magnitude before, we are very experienced at recovering from natural disasters such as cyclones and flooding,” Premier Palaszczuk said.
“We have a coordinated plan of action in place to recover, rebuild and reconnect our communities after the fires.
“Our state has Australia’s only standalone agency responsible for coordinating disaster recovery and resilience – the Queensland Reconstruction Authority.
“They are on the ground, working with councils and helping Queensland Fire and Emergency Services with damage assessments."
