Authorities are facing two major fire threats in Queensland, with paramedics assessing 13 people who were trapped by a blaze in a central Queensland national park.
Two rescue choppers were deployed to Rainbow Falls in Blackdown Tableland National Park, a three-hour drive west of Rockhampton, to rescue the people.
One helicopter has left Mackay and will have to refuel in Emerald first and the second has left Rockhampton.
Shortly after 3:00pm, Craig Magick from the Rural Fire Service said they were still assessing the fire threat inside the national park.
"We have people on scene," he said.
"There are a number of campers and bushwalkers in the area and their safety is our number one priority."
Meanwhile, at least one property has been lost and about 30 others are believed to be at risk from a separate bushfire described at one point as "life threatening" and moving rapidly south-west of Cairns in the state's far north.
Residents living in the Walsh River Road area of the Atherton Tablelands were told to seek shelter from a fast-moving bushfire that is headed west.
Around lunchtime on Sunday, Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) elevated the fire's threat level to an "emergency warning", but downgraded that to a "watch and act" warning at 3:35pm.
Earlier, people in the area were warned it was too late to leave their homes and that driving now "would be extremely dangerous".
But around 3:20pm on Sunday, Queensland police were helping to evacuate people from the Christian Community Centre and nearby properties which fire authorities said were under imminent threat.
Two water bombers and more than 50 firefighters are working at the scene to limit the fire.
At this stage, there have been no reports of injuries as a result of the blaze.
The fire, which has been burning for some time and described as "erratic", flared on Saturday evening.
By about 10:00pm, residents on Walsh River Road were advised to follow their bushfire survival plans and leave their properties.
The fire threat then eased, but the situation worsened again on Sunday.
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