Communities across Australia’s east coast are hoping a wet weekend will bring a reprieve to firefighters as rainfall starts to set in across New South Wales and Queensland.
But the bushfire threat has arisen in the west as parts of Western Australia experience extreme fire risk with threats to properties south of Perth.
Showers and possible storms were forecast for large parts of NSW and Queensland over the weekend, persisting for a week in some regions.
Rainfall in excess of 20mm was expected to fall over central and northern NSW and south-east and central Queensland on Saturday.
The mild conditions were expected over the hardest-hit areas including Tara west of Brisbane and the southern border town of Wallangarra.
About 100 blazes were still burning across the two states after a torrid week claimed more than 60 homes and thousands of hectares of farming land either side of the border.
Some 130 Victorian firefighters had arrived on the ground, with another 60 expected from New Zealand and more potentially from overseas to relieve local crews, hoping cooler conditions would bring some reprieve.
In the border town of Tenterfield where a large number of fires have been burning, showers were forecast to continue until Friday, with possibly severe thunderstorms predicted over the weekend and winds of up to 20 km/h.
“A low pressure trough is currently extending over inland New South Wales,” the Bureau of Meteorology wrote.
“This trough is forecast to linger throughout the weekend and into next week, moving westward over Sunday and into Monday, before transitioning eastward again through the week.”
Some 12mm of rainfall was recorded in the past 24 hours in Tenterfield, while just north of the border, 27mm of rainfall was recorded at Wallangarra region where multiple fires were still burning.
As of Saturday, just one watch and act warning remained in place in Queensland for Jumna Dam and All Nations Mine.
Residents in the area of Irvinebank in the south-east were told it wasn’t safe to return to the area after a fire took hold at about 8am.
NOT SAFE TO RETURN - Jumna Dam (Irvinebank) - fire as at 7:45am Saturday, 4 November 2023.
— Qld Fire & Emergency (@QldFES) November 3, 2023
For all current warnings, updates and mapping go to https://t.co/vqyJTUPBhe. pic.twitter.com/EqxXuzeSAR
There were 52 fires burning across NSW, a decrease of 10 compared with Friday. Some 14 were not yet contained. All had returned to an “advice level”, with more than 350 firefighters and specialists working to control the lingering blazes.
With storms also brought the danger of lightning strikes.
On Friday, the NSW RFS warned residents in the north of the state to check their property for new fires after lightning strikes were detected west of Tenterfield.
Lightning strikes have been detected in the north of the state, west of the current fire activity near Tenterfield. It's important you check your property for any new fires. Report all unattended fires to Triple Zero (000) immediately. https://t.co/SwFG8PAiJ8 #NSWRFS pic.twitter.com/rOGOLe6BHE
— NSW RFS (@NSWRFS) November 3, 2023
In Western Australia, the threat of fire was increasing, including the possible loss of homes south of Perth as blazes encroached on the area.
An emergency warning was issued on Saturday morning for North Dandalup and Myara in the Shire of Murray, about 25km south of the capital city.
“You are in danger and need to act immediately to survive,” Emergency WA warned. “There is a threat to lives and homes … if you are not at home, it’s too dangerous to return.”
An extreme fire danger warning was in place for the Inland Central West, Lower West Inland and Mortlock districts, with communities urged to implement their bushfire survival plans and monitor the ongoing situation.
The Bureau of Meteorology said “warm to hot and dry conditions” with strong winds were forecast over the central and lower west, leading to isolated high thunderstorms and possible dry lightening into the afternoon.
A strong wind warning was also in place for the Perth coast, Bunbury Geographe coast and the Esperance coast.
AAP contributed to this report.
