Grass warning for Queenslanders who refuse to evacuate a village under fire-fueled bushfires

Stubborn locals who refuse to evacuate a small town located on the path of a deadly hell were warned that they would be "burned to death" if they did not leave.

A thick, bubbling smoke already surrounds Gracemere, west of Rockhampton, Queensland, as the fire approaches that of homes and shopping centers in the area.

More than 8,000 residents have fled but about 50 of them are standing despite the desperate demands of frustrated emergency services.

The flames begin to lick the perimeters of the small regional town known for its beef.

"People are going to burn to death," said Queensland Deputy Police Commissioner Bob Gee.

"Their normal approaches will probably not work if this situation evolves as expected.

"This is no different than a Category 5 cyclone that pbades the door."

"If you have children with you, you really have to think about not losing a house, but losing the people you care about the most."

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services Rural Fire Services said the danger is catastrophic for the Capricornia and Central Highlands regions as well as the Coalfield areas – the highest level available on nationally recognized shooting scale.

Residents of Gracemere who responded to evacuation orders were asked to settle at Rockhampton Showgrounds and register their home addresses.

Emergency services and bus convoys began evacuating elderly people from the area's retirement homes.

Emergency Management Victoria has hired 82 other people in the area to help fight fires on Thursday afternoons to help local crews fight these fires.

Interstate firefighters arrived during the day as fires ravaged the area.

Further south of Rockhampton, more than 1,000 people were also forced to leave the Deepwater area.

Farmers in the small fishing village of Rules Beach break down the hatches of their sprawling orchards and prepare to fight the fire.

Macadamia producer Robert Griffith said the flames were only three kilometers from his property, but he refused to budge.

"The wind is hot and dry, you can feel the fire, you can see the embers flying through and the whole farm is littered with burnt leaves of the last days," he told Mail Mail.

"In flight of bird, there are only three kilometers, we have probably half an hour to an hour. he said.

Mr. Gee stated that people at the fire who refused to leave were playing Russian roulette.

Officers are said to be conducting a final scan of the area, but after that, residents will be alone.

In addition to residents who refuse to leave, the authorities now worry that the Hills Road Bridge, which serves as the only access to the area, will be destroyed by the fire, cutting finally the only emergency exit for the inhabitants.

As conditions deteriorate, fires are already being compared to the devastating hell of Malibu California, which has destroyed hundreds of homes.

Brian Smith, regional director of the Central Region of Rural Fire Services, said experts in fire behavior had predicted that catastrophic conditions would unfold in the area north of Bundaberg on Wednesday afternoon.

"It's something we do not want to overdo, but they compare that to the Waroona fires in Western Australia, which completely wiped out a city a few years ago, as well as recent fires in New York. California, "he said. I said.

He added that unpredictable fires were being fanned by gusts of wind from the west, which began to blow around noon.

Existing fires in the Deepwater area, south of Agnes Water, have already begun to break containment lines.

A new fire is threatening properties in Ambrose, south of Rockhampton, and fire crews are trying to contain another fire at Winfield, south of Baffle Creek.

Residents of Deepwater, Baffle Creek, Rules Beach and Oyster Creek, Eungella and Dalrymple Heights have been ordered to evacuate before fires cut off the roads.

"I'm sure some people probably have high-performance, sophisticated systems of pumps, dams, and systems, and they think everything will be fine, I know what I'm doing and I've done it before," M Crawford said.

"Today is not one of these days. Today is different. We expect a fire storm.

The fire storm would likely create "dead men's areas" where it would be impossible to survive even in a car.

More than 85 fires are burning in the state, but the Deepwater and Dalrymple fires, to the west of Mackay, are the most worrisome.

Interstate teams arrived Tuesday to help fight hell in central Queensland, which has destroyed homes and burned at least 20,000 hectares of bush and farmland since Saturday.

Eight aircraft, including a huge water bomber, capable of dropping 15,000 liters at a time, are also fighting the fire.

Crews from South Australia are expected to arrive Wednesday, and other Australians later this week.