NSW and Qld fires updates: water-bombing helicopter crashes at bushfires west of Brisbane – live | Australia news

An update on the pilot involved in the helicopter crash. The ABC is reporting the pilot has survived.

The Queensland Ambulance Service says the pilot is being treated for minor injuries.

Some breaking news:

The ABC is reporting a water-bombing helicopter has crashed while fighting a fire at Pechey on the Darling Downs, west of Brisbane.

The Queensland Ambulance Service and the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services are responding, a QFES spokesman said.

“QFES is seeking further clarification regarding the condition of the pilot,” he said.

More than 70 fires continue to burn across NSW, and 61 across Queensland.

Conditions eased compared to the catastrophic danger ratings in NSW yesterday, but worsened in Queensland.

In Queensland:

• An emergency “leave immediately” warning was issued for Noosa North Shore.
• Five “leave now” warnings were issued: Pechey, Woodgate/Walkers Point, Kinkuna Waters, Kilkivan, and Spicers Peak Lodge.
• Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk confirmed 14 homes had been lost, 13 of them in the Cobraball fire near Yeppoon.
• Severe conditions were declared for Wide Bay and Burnett, Darling Downs and Granite Belt and the Southeast Coast.

In NSW:

• Premier Gladys Berejiklian said she was relieved no lives were lost yesterday.
• 21 people were injured yesterday – 13 of them firefighters and eight members of the public. None of the injuries were life-threatening.
• At least 50 homes were damaged or destroyed yesterday.
• There were 2,000 calls to triple zero yesterday.
• NSW RFS commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said that coordination had “never been better” than yesterday in fighting the fires.
• But he warned that we still had “the worst of the summer ahead of us” and that “the science is suggesting, and we are experiencing, that fire seasons are starting earlier and are extending longer”.
• Today, severe conditions were declared for New England.

An update on the Noosa North Shore fire, which is still at emergency and still at “leave immediately”.

“The fire may soon impact the Wallaby Track so residents on Noosa North Shore are advised to leave immediately. The fire is expected to have a significant impact on the community.

People leaving the area should take the Noosa River Ferry to Moorindil Street. An evacuation centre has been established at the Noosa Leisure Centre on Wallace Drive.

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services has issued a new and separate warning for Kinkuna Waters, near the existing Woodgate/Walkers Point Road fire, which is also at “leave now”.

“A fast-moving bushfire is burning near Woodgate Road and Woppis Road, travelling towards Kinkuna Waters Estate,” QFES say. “Residents in Kinkuna Waters Estate should evacuate west on Woodgate Road towards Goodwood.

“There is a separate warning current for residents in Woodgate/Walkers Point Road. Residents in this area should follow instructions given in that warning.”

This is what a watch and act fire looks like.

This photo from Monday, taken by a Nasa satellite, shows the smoke all along the coast.

Police are also investigating 12 fires for potential arson, according to AAP.

Those include three fires in Balgownie near Wollongong and four fires throughout Morisset near Lake Macquarie.

They are also looking at suspicious fires in Sydney’s South Turramurra, at Loftus in the Royal national park, at Katoomba in the Blue Mountains, at Wollongong’s Berkeley and at Moonbi near Tamworth.

Five men have been caught today breaching the state’s total fire ban, AAP reports.

One man allegedly resisted arrest when he was caught lighting candles at a Campbelltown campsite. Others were lighting barbecues and incinerating rubbish.

Two men have also been charged after being found with allegedly stolen RFS equipment. The first man was allegedly found with an RFS uniform and documentation in Lismore, northern NSW, and the second man was found in Loftus impersonating a firefighter and wearing a Fire and Rescue NSW uniform.

Some footage of a spot fire from Hillville, from Jessica Hromas and Michael McGowan on the scene.

Residents of Pechey (near Hampton) have been told to leave now, and head towards the New England Highway.

“There is a bushfire in Pechey and Hampton and conditions are getting worse,” the Queensland Fire and Emergency Service says. “A fast moving fire is travelling from Grapetree Road towards Deeth Road, Sewell Road, Parker Road, Bush Road and Misty Mountain Road. It is currently impacting Parker Road and Sewell Road. The fire could have a significant impact on the community.”