Queensland authorities are confident the state is well prepared for bushfires as warm, dry and windy conditions bring an early start to the season.
Dozens of fires were burning across the state on Tuesday but all were contained, with crews aiming to beat them back as much as possible before soaring temperatures expected on Thursday.
The main blazes continued to be at Beerwah on the Sunshine Coast and south of Townsville, along with fires near Bundaberg and on the Darling Downs.
Police are investigating whether the Beerwah blaze was deliberately lit before burning through more than 170 hectares.
Fire conditions are worsening this week as heatwave conditions make their way across southern Australia, prompting total fire bans in parts of NSW before heading north later in the week.
Queensland's fire chief said its fire season had started early in southern parts, and the risk had spread into central and northern areas as the state was "progressively drying out".
"We will see on Thursday many areas will be in the high and some areas in the extreme fire danger rating," Queensland Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner Greg Leach told reporters.
He said authorities were yet to decide on total fire bans.
"It'll depend really what the ultimate weather conditions are on Thursday," Mr Leach said.
High temperatures and lots of dry vegetation were factors but "a lot of these fires we're seeing at the moment are wind-driven fires".
Speaking on Tuesday before the Bureau of Meteorology formally declared an El Nino event, Mr Leach said the decision would not affect Queensland's bushfire preparation.
The commissioner and Emergency Services Minister Mark Ryan also said they were confident the state had enough volunteer firefighters following reports that thousands of volunteers had quit the state's Rural Fire Service in recent years.
Mr Leach said the Rural Fire Service had 26,500 volunteers, which was down from 35,000 five years ago, but this was due to a "significant refresh of our data".
The smaller figure came after a review uncovered a number of volunteers who were no longer active with their brigades, had moved away or died.
He said the 26,500 was "a more accurate reflection of our operational strength" and he and Mr Ryan were confident that was enough for what is expected to be a challenging season.
Mr Ryan also pointed to the higher number of hazard reduction burns carried out this year by the QFES and the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service.
