THE Emergency Services staging area at Boonah Showgrounds was a hive of activity this afternoon as SES volunteers helped set up a tent city to accommodate extra firefighters due to arrive to assist locals as they battle bushfires on several fronts across the Scenic Rim.
The Rural Fire Service incident controller Kaye Healing said the tents would be home to two task forces expected to arrive this afternoon.
"We hope they will take the pressure off our local guys who are still feeding cattle and going back to their properties to get fences mended," she said.
"We're ramping up operations ahead of Tuesday and Wednesday as BOM predicts a fire risk level anywhere from high to extreme and no rain, not even the chance of a thunderstorm.
"We would love BOM to wrong about that."
At nearby Tarome, the blackened, still smouldering earth around intact homesteads is testament to the tireless efforts of local firies
Ms Healing said lessons learned during the Canungra fires had helped with planning for the challenges expected early in this week.
"We talk about that every day, what worked in Canungra and what didn't.
"The fires were particularly bad for the Canungra community but they did give us really valuable insight.
"These fires have been burning for six or seven weeks now and we have had no lives lost or reported injuries."
Also at the staging area was the Salvation Army, providing sustenance for firefighters and volunteers on the ground.
Salvation Army Captain Wes Bust said the Salvos had been at the staging area since Thursday.
"We have volunteers preparing and serving about 500 meals a day," he said.
"With more personnel expected we are also getting extra volunteers from Toowoomba and the Gold Coast.
"We have appealed for public support by posting a link for online donations on our The Salvation Army Fassifern Facebook page."
Ms Healing said firefighters were doing a great job in the fire zones but appealed for Scenic Rim residents to do their part.
"We need the community to get out of their armchairs and have a good look around their properties," she said.
"Get your generators and hoses ready, and have a clean up because conditions are extraordinarily dry and the fire is not pulling up where it normally pulls up.
"So when people say 'fire never comes far enough to reach us', this time they could be wrong about that."
Meanwhile Queensland Police released Polair footage of the fire at Lower Beechmont taken on Friday night / early Saturday morning.
