Seven volunteers from the Rural Fire Service Canobolas Zone landed in Gladstone on Friday to help fight bushfires raging in Queensland.
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Seven firefighters from the Canobolas Zone are the first of potentially three strike teams to assist Queensland emergency services in fighting catastrophic blazes near Rockhampton and Gladstone.
The firefighters will be suppressing fire and back-burning across the region across their three days on the ground.
The firefighters were part of 33 Western firefighters to head up to assist with the blazes which have been described as devastating and catastrophic, and will be assigned to night shift on the Baffle Creek blaze.
They are the first strike team from Orange going to fight the blaze.
Canobolas Zone operations manager Brett Bowden said 30 volunteers – including the seven who went north on Friday – had put their hands up to assist in Queensland, which he said was a fantastic sign for people to help so close to Christmas.
The current crew are due to return on Monday, with a replacement group tagging in to the fires on the same day.
Depending on conditions, Mr Bowden said if there were no easing of the conditions and NSW firefighters were again asked to help, they would likely send a third group.
However, Mr Bowden said he hoped conditions would ease before then.
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