With hot, dry and windy conditions across Southern Queensland again today, police and firefighters are reminding the community to responsibly extinguish cigarette butts, Queensland Police say.
Yesterday afternoon, a man and a woman allegedly failed to properly put out the cigarette butts that they had discarded in bushland near Atkinsons Dam.
The cigarette butts caused a large grass fire to start, destroying around 38 hectares of bushland before Rural Fire Service crews were able to extinguish it.
A 17-year-old Lawnton woman and an 18-year-old Taigum man have both been charged with discarding an item causing a fire that endangered property – an offence under the Fire and Emergency Services Act 1990.
They are due to appear in the Ipswich Magistrates Court this morning.
A severe fire danger is forecast for the Maranoa and Warrego and Darling Downs and Granite Belt for the rest of today.
If you have information for police, contact Policelink on 131 444 or provide information using the online form 24hrs per day.
You can report information about crime anonymously to Crime Stoppers.
