A community has rallied to help keep a bushfire at bay after families were forced to flee their homes.
But many locals remain on high alert amid concerns the blaze will flare again in southwest Queensland.
Hundreds evacuated after fire quickly converged on the 600-strong town of Dirranbandi, a seven hour drive from Brisbane, on Tuesday night.
What started as a small grass fire soon became a blaze with an 8km front.
"It was alarming to me how quickly it escalated - it was within an hour and a half," Balonne Shire Mayor Samantha O'Toole told AAP.
"This is not a familiar situation for our community, normally we don't experience bushfires to this extent."
Yet locals were still quick to spring into action.
Nearby towns threw out the welcome mat as families were forced from their homes by the looming flames.
An evacuation centre was opened in St George and a local bakery reportedly remained open all night to cater for displaced locals passing through.
Some slept in their cars before finding somewhere to stay on Wednesday, others sought accommodation with family or friends.
Patients at Dirranbandi Multipurpose Health Service were relocated to St George hospital, with fire cutting power to about 400 houses, businesses and essential services.
"We had found enough accommodation for people, some billeted people around the town which was lovely," Ms O'Toole said.
"Family and friends jumped in to support so we had them all safely bedded down within the community yesterday."
Many of the residents who stayed in Dirranbandi soon got to work.
Locals used their own machinery, working alongside firefighters to finally get the blaze behind containment lines.
They combined with more than 20 fire crews, including water bombers, to combat the blaze which burnt about 1700 hectares.
By 6pm on Wednesday Dirranbandi residents were told they could "return with caution" and an emergency declaration was revoked.
Families have begun returning to their homes with power and internet also restored.
There were no reports of houses damaged by fire.
But locals are still wary of the blaze flaring again, with crews remaining on Thursday to ensure the fire was kept behind containment lines amid a forecast wind change.
The Bureau of Meteorology said extreme heatwave conditions would shift toward central and northern Queensland from Thursday after Dirranbandi hit 42 degrees this week.
The Dirranbandi blaze is among about 25 fires currently burning across Queensland, with a "prepare to leave" warning active near the rural town of Kogan west of Brisbane.
"We still have fire crews in the district prepared for anything that may flare up," Ms O'Toole said.
"The fire could change rapidly. These things can be very unpredictable.
"We are asking the community to be very vigilant."
However the mayor was confident whatever challenge her community faced next, they would be ready.
"We have done an incredible amount of work with the community and rural fire service over the last couple of days so hopefully we can handle whatever comes at us," she said.
