Firies on alert as forest burns | Warwick Weather | Local Weather Forecast for Warwick

WATERBOMBING aircraft used Massie Airfield as a base yesterday as Queensland Fire and Rescue set up an incident control centre in Warwick to control two bushfires burning in our region.

QFRS inspector Bruce Ehrlich said the “air tractors” dumped 6000 litres of water on a fire in Durakai State Forest, 40km south of Karara yesterday afternoon.

Meanwhile QFRS crews monitored a second fire in Dunmore State Forest, 50km north west of Millmerran.

The bushfires, believed to have started after controlled burns by Queensland Parks and Wildlife Services, were last night within “containment lines”.

But Mr Ehrlich warned the region was not out of danger as heat and gusty winds continued to produce extreme conditions on the second day of a total fire ban for south-east Queensland.

“It's unusual to have this situation in August, but I am anticipating a busy fire season,” he said. “High temperatures, low humidity, strong winds and on-ground fuel supply have created an extremely high risk situation.”

Mr Ehrlich said QFRS had contracted two “air tractors” for the fire season, with the aircrafts first stopover for the season Massie Airfield.

“We also have a spotter plane in the air to report as conditions change,” he said.

He urged people to observe the 48-hour total fire ban, which finishes at midnight tonight, warning there were hefty fines in place for those who risked lighting up.

As of last night 11 rural fire crews also remained on scene at a large fire at Pozieres, north of Stanthorpe.

The fire started on Donnelly's Castle Road just after 10am yesterday and no homes had been threatened at time of print last night.