Thursday, October 23, 2025

Issue:

Mackay and Whitsunday Life

Local Fire Ban Declared for Burdekin Shire

A Local Fire Ban has been declared across the Burdekin Shire by the Rural Fire Service Queensland, taking effect from midnight Saturday, 18 October, and continuing until 11:59pm Friday, 31 October. The ban comes in response to current weather conditions and heightened fire risk.

During this period, lighting, maintaining, or using fires in the open is strictly prohibited. All existing permits to light fires are suspended, except in limited cases. Fires used for cooking on a properly constructed BBQ or in a gas or wood-fired oven are allowed, provided the flames cannot escape and a hose or extinguisher is on hand. Small contained fires, such as a fire pit or brazier no larger than one metre by one metre by half a metre, may also be used for warmth between 6pm and 6am if the surrounding area is cleared of vegetation.

Sugarcane burning may continue where a valid permit has been issued, and essential or commercial burning is permitted only with the approval of the Chief Fire Warden.

Residents are also urged to exercise caution when using power tools such as lawn mowers and slashers, and to keep suitable equipment nearby to extinguish any accidental fires.

For further information on fire bans and exemptions, visit the Queensland Fire Department website at www.fire.qld.gov.au.

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