Updated
Power demand in south-east Queensland has reached extreme levels as the heatwave takes hold.
The temperature in Brisbane passed 30 degrees Celsius at 9:30am (AEST) on the way to an expected top of 39.
By 11:00am, parts of the state's west were already nudging 40 degrees, with Century Mine, Richmond and Mount Isa among the hottest.
Power supplier Energex says demand is peaking into the extreme in the state's south-east.
Some schools have banned outside play to keep students from overheating.
Hospital emergency departments are on stand-by for an influx of heat-related illnesses.
Water bombing aircraft are being used to fight a large grassfire north of Roma in the state's southern inland.
Six crews are battling to contain the blaze.
Firefighters are expecting more trouble this afternoon when conditions deteriorate.
Community Safety Minister Jack Dempsey says he is confident all precautions have been taken to protect the state.
"For the whole of the week we've made sure we've initiated water bombing exercises from Dalby to Toowoomba to Roma," he said.
"We've got the task force at the ready in all of those areas right through to the Central Highlands.
"We've also got the state's operational centre activated."
Firefighters are continuing to monitor dozens of blazes burning around the state in today's extreme heat.
Ten bushfires are burning in the southern inland, but they are not threatening properties.
The Queensland Fire and Rescue Service says a blaze near Miles is under control, while crews have been sent to another fire near Millmerran, south of Toowoomba.
In the north, more than a dozen blazes are burning throughout the Mackay region.
Rural Operations manager Lawrence Laing says crews are working around the clock to contain the fires, which are not currently threatening any homes.
A fire weather warning has been issued for the Central Highlands and Coalfields.
Mr Laing says the dry and hot conditions mean residents need to be prepared.
"Because we're actually starting to stretch our crews, people need to realise that response might not be straight away to their properties," he said.
"They need to make sure that they've got a good water supply, that their home is defendable - it's time to be serious about fire."
All fire permits have been withdrawn from the Central Region for the next 48 hours.
Meanwhile, crews on the Atherton Tablelands, west of Cairns, are monitoring blazes near Mount Garnet and Dimbulah.
Superintendent Ian Thomas says neither fire is threatening homes at this stage.
"They'll be monitoring during the day and if it gets too hot they may pull back and have a bit of a breather in the shade for a while," he said.
"Certainly not any active firefighting in the middle of the day.
"We're not going to have much success under these conditions so we'd fall back to containment lines and do our work early in the morning or late at night."
Topics: weather, emergency-planning, emergency-incidents, rural, brisbane-4000, bundaberg-4670, cairns-4870, gladstone-4680, longreach-4730, mackay-4740, maroochydore-4558, rockhampton-4700, toowoomba-4350, southport-4215, townsville-4810
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