Just a day after crews contained an out-of-control bushfire \u2014 and with 60 fires currently burning across the state \u2014 Queenslanders are being urged to prepare for an impending severe weather season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Parts of the state are still reeling from last season’s flooding, storms and rainfall, with the majority of council areas disaster-declared already.<\/p>\n
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A blaze on Moreton Island \u2014 believed to have been sparked on Saturday by a campfire while an active fire ban was in place \u2014 burnt 2,300 kilometres before it was brought under control.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, two fires are continuing to burn in the Bundaberg region with both at watch and act levels.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A fire ban across Central Queensland has been extended until October 10, while a fire ban remains in place for the state’s south-east.<\/p>\n
Large swathes of Queensland are also experiencing above-average temperatures, with about 60 fires burning on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
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In some places, recovery is sitll underway from events like ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred. (ABC News: Syan Vallance)<\/p>\n
Queensland Fire Department Commissioner Steve Smith said the fire season was looking “average”, but high fuel loads from multiple recent wet seasons was a risk.<\/p>\n
“As we’ve seen over the last week, we’ll have these bursts of severe activity,” he said.<\/p>\n
Commissioner Smith said the frequency and intensity of bushfires had increased in recent years, and it was “frustrating” to have to respond to fires like the one on Moreton Island, which was believed to have been entirely avoidable.<\/p>\n
Communities still reeling<\/p>\n
Speaking on Tuesday morning, Emergency Services Minister Ann Leahy said many communities were still feeling the impacts of extreme weather.\u00a0<\/p>\n