emergency warning as people told to leave immediately

Fire authorities have issued an emergency warning to those still in one of Fraser Island’s popular east coast destinations as they continue to battle bushfires now burning for almost two months.

The area of Happy Valley, about halfway along the World Heritage-listed island’s eastern shore was placed under a “leave immediately” warning on Sunday afternoon.

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services said the large firefront was moving south-east and expected to impact the township by 4pm. It urged people to leave south along the eastern beach to Eurong if it was safe to do so.

“Leaving immediately is the safest option, as it will soon be too dangerous to drive,” the warning read. “Power, water and mobile phone service may be lost and road…