ITVITV bosses are reportedly on ‘high alert’ and have been warned they may have to evacuate the I’m A Celeb camp as bushfires have started moving south ‘towards the set’.
Areas in Queensland are rated ‘catastrophic’ as fires, caused by combination of ‘fierce, gusting winds, low humidity and high temperatures’, have started spreading.
There is said to be around ‘200 active wildfires’, with the closest one being 60km north of the camp in Oxenford and Wongawallan, according to reports.
I’m A Celeb, which is filmed in Murwillumbah, is on the border of Queensland and New South Wales, around 60km from the ‘closest of the fires’.
A show source told The Mirror:
We speak to the fire services regularly and we are also monitoring the bushfires today in Oxenford and Wongawallan.
There is no immediate danger but the safety and the welfare of our cast and crew is our number one concern, and so we will continue to watch how the fires develop. We are really hoping they don’t get any closer to camp.
LEAVE IMMEDIATELY: Fast moving fire heading towards Mt Larcom, impacting Taylors Lane. If Sth of fire head to Gladstone Entertainment Centre. If north, head to #Rockhampton showgrounds. I’ll have the latest @WINNews_ROK 6pm pic.twitter.com/NXkhg2LuMP
— Corinne May (@CorinneEMay) November 28, 2018
I’m A Celeb contestants had to be evacuated back in 2015 when ITV bosses moved the campmates from the main camp to a shelter in the Bush Telegraph as thunder and lightning, and torrential rain poured down.
Mandatory evacuations of 8,000 residents in Gracemere, Queensland, were under way today (Wednesday, November 28) as fires destroy homes, according to The Guardian.
Some residents in certain areas have refused to leave homes and businesses.
The firestorm between Gladstone and Bundaberg has ruined houses, ‘razed other structures and thousands of hectares of bush and farmland, but some locals have ignored urgent orders to leave’.
More horrific vision coming in from Deepwater in Central Queensland. These fires are catastrophic. Truly scary. #QLDFires @abcbrisbane pic.twitter.com/y0el1Ounqw
— Allyson Horn (@allysonhorn) November 28, 2018
Queensland’s Deputy Police Commissioner, Bob Gee said:
If you have children with you, you need to think really hard about not losing a house, but losing the people you care most about.
People will burn to death… It is no different to a Category 5 cyclone coming through your door.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the country ‘stands with Queenslanders’ as bushfires burn across the state, threatening homes and communities.
Adding:
These catastrophic fire conditions are unprecedented for the state. I ask that Queenslanders to please heed the warnings and advice of local fire authorities.
I have spoken with Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and have offered further ADF assistance and support.
These will be difficult hours and days for Queenslanders. They have our thoughts and prayers, along with the men and women fighting these fires, many of whom have travelled from other States and Territories to provide assistance.
With fires continuing to develop across Wide Bay and Central Queensland, we’d like to remind people what they need to take when evacuating.
• Remember your prescription medications AND scripts, you can’t get repeat medication without these. pic.twitter.com/w9Y07mj3Y7— Queensland Ambulance (@QldAmbulance) November 27, 2018
We are thinking of everybody affected by the fires.
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