Terrifying moment ‘fiery tornado’ sends debris and sheets of iron flying in Queensland

Terrifying moment a ‘fiery tornado’ sends debris and sheets of iron flying as farmer in a ute desperately tries to reverse to safety

  • A ‘fire tornado’ sent debris and sheets of iron flying into the air in Queensland
  • Volunteer firefighters were working to control a blaze at Lake Mary on Monday 
  • They were forced to retreat as the smokey wind sent slabs of material flying

A ‘fire tornado’ has sent debris and sheets of iron flying into the air – as volunteer firefighters desperately attempt to control blazes in Queensland.   

The volunteers were forced to retreat as the firestorm erupted at property in Lake Mary, about 650km north of Brisbane, on Monday.

Video footage shows the torando swirl above a boat and send debris flying into the air.

A ‘fire tornado’ sent debris and sheets of iron flying into the air at a property in Queensland

A utility truck is seen reversing to safety as the ‘tornado’ sends slabs of material flying into the air.    

The footage was shared to Facebook by Kirsty Boswood, after her husband Dan captured it while on the job.

‘Dan filmed this today out the back of Lake Mary, just insane and a small snippet of what conditions are like fighting this fire,’ she wrote.

‘He – like many others in our community who are fighting this – are volunteers.

‘Honestly what they do and all the QFES is nothing short of amazingly courageous.’ 

Ms Boswood told The Courier-Mail the house was only 20 metres behind the ‘whirly wind’. 

‘Then some tin hits the grader, and it just shows how dangerous the conditions are,’ she said.   

Video footage shows the smokey wind escalate and swirl above a burnt boat and debris sprawled along the floor

Video footage shows the smokey wind escalate and swirl above a burnt boat and debris sprawled along the floor

In a post on Facebook, Billy Geddes said he was on a grader when the ‘whirlybird of fire’ struck. 

‘We saved the house but last minute and due to the 30ft high whirlybird of fire in their backyard there were sheets of iron flying,’ he wrote.

‘One took out the top of the grader I was on and it was lucky no one on the ground got hit.’  

The grader is seen moving towards the fire after the wind settles. 

The volunteers were forced to retreat as the firestorm erupted at property in Lake Mary, about 650 kilometres north of Brisbane, on Monday

The volunteers were forced to retreat as the firestorm erupted at property in Lake Mary, about 650 kilometres north of Brisbane, on Monday 

At 9.45am on Tuesday, QLD RFS warned residents at Cobraball, Bungundarra, Maryvale and Lake Mary should ‘prepare to leave’. 

‘Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) advises there is a bushfire in Cobraball, Bungundarra, Maryvale and Lake Mary, and conditions could get worse,’ they said.   

‘You need to be ready to follow your bushfire survival plan. 

‘If you do not have a plan, or intend to leave, you should be ready to leave the area because the situation could get worse quickly.’ 

A utility truck is seen reversing to safety as the 'tornado' sends slabs of material flying into the air

A utility truck is seen reversing to safety as the ‘tornado’ sends slabs of material flying into the air

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk