Emergency warning issued for South Burnett bushfire

Authorities have issued an Emergency Warning for a bushfire in Queensland's South Burnett.

A Seek Shelter Now alert is in place for the very dangerous blaze in the rural area of Teelah, north of Blackbutt.

The Queensland Fire Department (QFD) says it is burning near Stretton Drive and homes could be at risk.

South Burnett Mayor Kathy Duff said the council was working with the QFD and planned to set up evacuation centres.

"In that Teelah area in particular, just keep on watching the Queensland Fire Department Website and do whatever they've instructed you to do," she said.

Southern Downs fire

Further south, a Southern Downs fire prompted the evacuation of six homes overnight and was likely caused by a permitted burn that got out of control, authorities said.

Residents of six rural properties are returning to their homes today after evacuating overnight while firefighters worked to control a nearby bushfire south-west of Stanthorpe.

Emergency crews are monitoring the fire, which continues to burn near Murphy Crossing Road at Nundubbermere, about 230 kilometres south-west of Brisbane.

Rural Fire Service Queensland Chief Superintendent Shaun Toohey said a permitted burn caused the fire after it jumped containment lines several weeks ago. 

Mr Toohey said the property owner had been helping crews work to the contain the fire. 

"Unfortunately, with the conditions we have down there, a fire on the landscape is going to have a couple of weeks to exhaust itself," he said. 

"It's an accidental piece that's occurred, but [I'm] really thankful for the work that property owner has done with our crews over the last fortnight." 

Southern Downs Regional Council Mayor Melissa Hamilton said while there were no reports of property damage, the drought-affected region was bracing for a difficult bushfire season.

"That is a reminder for people to be incredibly cautious," she said.

"The window for permitted burns is no doubt closing very fast.

"It is an absolute warning as we are now entering our fire season.

"It is dry, and we are completely reliant on weather conditions at the moment, with several fires around the region."

Residents prepared as fire spreads

Nundubbermere resident Cenedra Rogers said she decided not to evacuate after emergency services visited her yesterday.

Ms Rogers said she had experienced fires in the area recently and was prepared to leave if authorities directed her to. 

"We decided to stay just because we have our full faith in the fire crews. If it got bad, they would probably leave, and we would follow them,"

Ms Rogers said.

She said she watched the situation closely as burnt leaves fell from the sky.

She believes the blaze spread to a neighbouring property.

"We climbed up the hill to have a look, and we could see flames leaping into the air from the treetops, which was a bit scary," she said. 

"It just came closer and closer and closer until the fire crews started back-burning and trying to do whatever they could to push it away," Ms Rogers said.

She said the wind changed direction at about 3am today, pushing the fire away from her home. 

"I woke up to see more trucks up the street and the fire moving away from us," she said.

"The winds changed, which is really nice."

Ms Rogers said she worked to protect her home, hosing down the structure and the ground.

"Everything is just bone dry. We were just trying to get a little bit of moisture into the air and into the ground where we've got leaf litter and sticks," she said. 

The Bureau of Meteorology forecasts Stanthorpe will reach a top of 23 degrees Celsius on Tuesday following temperatures in excess of 30C in recent days.