Busy day for Queensland firefighters

Grass fires - the biggest in Mareeba, north Queensland - have kept firefighters busy
on another unseasonally hot day in the state.
Eleven crews battled the blaze at Mareeba on the Atherton Tablelands, which started
around 12.45pm AEST on Saturday.
An aircraft was deployed for observation.
A Department of Emergency Services spokeswoman said by 6pm (AEST) firefighters had
contained one-third of the blaze, which at one stage stretched to 15.5 square
kilometres.
Crews saved a shed that caught alight about 3.30pm AEST.
"There's no further threat to properties in the area," she added.
The fire is expected to be brought under control by the end of Saturday night.
Grass fires that started on Saturday afternoon at Redbank Plains, west of Brisbane,
and Limestone Creek, near Rockhampton in central Queensland, were brought under
control by fire fighting units.
Emergency services had been placed on high alert on Friday because more unseasonally
high temperatures were predicted on the weekend.
At 2pm AEST on Saturday it was at least 30 degrees at Rockhampton, Weipa, Emerald,
Mt Isa, Toowoomba and Charleville, while the mercury in Cairns had reached 29
degrees.
Temperatures are expected to nudge 30 degrees again on Sunday.