'Unprecedented and historic': Fifty fires burning across Queensland
Queensland residents have been warned more properties could be lost and livestock losses will be significant as firefighters continue battling more than 50 fires across the state.
A total of 21 properties have been destroyed so far and fire crews worked overnight on Sunday trying to get control of the most dangerous blaze in the Gold Coast hinterland.
The fire in the Lamington National Park is still out of control and is burning towards the community of Numinbah Valley, northeast of Binna Burra.
Water bombers were used on Sunday to try to subdue the blaze, which has destroyed 11 properties and damaged the historic Binna Burra Lodge.
At 1am on Monday the fire was burning on both sides of Binna Burra Road, south of Summerville Rd, Queensland Fire and Emergency Services said.
There are more than 50 fires burning and up to 10 schools will be closed on Monday.
Strong winds could increase the threat on Monday in with Queensland fire and emergency services warning building structures could again be under threat.
Meanwhile, there was better news for residents further inland from Binna Burra in the Queensland border towns of Stanthorpe and Applethorpe where a fire has been mostly contained.
Crews are pushing to strengthen the containment lines to ensure the fire stays under control.
An exclusion zone remains in place, but some residents will be allowed back into the towns on Monday to access the damage.
Crews have also managed to contain a fire that broke out at Linville, in the Somerset Region inland from the Sunshine Coast, on Sunday.
Queensland bushfires linked to climate change
Queensland's acting premier Jackie Trad has praised the state's front line service workers who are battling the fiery and "unprecedented" effects of climate change this year.
Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, Ms Trad said scientists had been warning of more frequent and more ferocious fires "for quite some time".
"Fortunately in Queensland, we have such exemplary frontline service workers ... we are very well equipped in Queensland to respond to disaster," she said.
"The early onset of the fire season this year is something unprecedented and historic."
Queensland is facing the most devastating start to the fire season in the state's recorded history.
Since Thursday, 15 homes have been destroyed and the historic Binna Burra Lodge severely damaged, with more destruction expected.
Queensland Fire and Emergency Services predictive services inspector Andrew Sturgess warns it is an omen of things to come.
There were 57 bushfires burning in the state on Sunday morning.
Ms Trad said that in 2017 the Labor government increased the number of commissioned firefighters by 100 in response to the increasing population and the effects of climate change.
NSW firefighters battle major blazes
Multiple bushfires across NSW continue to burn out of control more than 36 hours after the emergency began, scorching tens of thousands of hectares and destroying or damaging property.
NSW firefighters have spent a long weekend fighting the intense blazes with a watch and act alert remaining in place for Bees Nest in Armidale and at Drake near Tenterfield.
The fire is burning to the north of Ebor, on multiple fronts, impacting Tyringham and Dundarrabin, while a large spot fire is also burning in the Muldiva State Forest in the Bostobrick area.
A strong wind warning will continue to make conditions difficult to control on Monday.
Meanwhile, crews have worked overnight with landholders to protect isolated properties in the area.
A number of tactical back-burns also have been conducted to protect properties using dry firefighting techniques.
Late on Sunday afternoon, some 680 firefighters were still working on more than 53 bush and grass fires burning throughout the state, with 18 of those uncontained.
As well as the Bees Nest and Drake fires, a separate blaze at Shark Creek on the NSW north coast remained at a watch-and-act alert level late on Sunday night.
By Monday morning, the Bees Nest blaze had torched around 63,000 hectares, twice the size of the Sydney city council area, while at Drake, around 32,000 hectares were destroyed.
A handful of homes have been lost or damaged by fire, and a volunteer firefighter was critically injured on Friday with burns to his hands, arms, legs, back, face and airways while he fought a fire south of Tenterfield.
Armidale, Clarence Valley, Glen Innes, Inverell, Tenterfield, Uralla and Walcha local government areas have been declared natural disaster zones, allowing residents to access state and federal financial support.
The Insurance Council also declared a catastrophe for bushfires that have destroyed homes or property in the state's north, giving priority to claims from affected policyholders.
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