Queensland has vowed to go it alone if the federal government refuses to secure more assets to fight bushfires across the country.
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Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is considering purchasing a 737 water bomber to help keep Queensland safe.
She says Australia needs more shared assets so states and territories can deal with simultaneous bushfire emergencies like the ones rolling on in Queensland and NSW.
"We need more national resources. If we have to go it alone, we'll go it alone," she told reporters.
Asked if she would consider buying a hulking water bomber to keep the state safe she said: "Absolutely. We've actually got that work happening at the moment."
The premier is also in talks with US suppliers to determine exactly what the state might need.
About 1000 firefighters are battling 55 blazes across Queensland, with a chaotic wind change expected late on Tuesday and into Wednesday.
Queensland Fire and Emergency Services acting commissioner Mike Wassing said there were 40 aircraft deployed or on stand-by and he believes that's sufficient for now.
But earlier in the day, QFES assistant commissioner Tony Johnstone said the simultaneous fire emergencies had increased competition for shared national resources.
He said fatigue management for local crews was also an issue and shifts had been shortened, while firefighters were brought in from interstate and New Zealand.
"We're having a problem with resources. We need to admit that," he told ABC radio.
Mr Wassing is comfortable with the status of the state's largest blazes but he said containment lines would be tested when the winds shift.
One primary area of concern is the Scenic Rim west of the Gold Coast, where defence force personnel have been creating breaks around fires burning in remote terrain since September.
Queenslanders have been warned to expect very poor air quality in coming days. On Monday pollutants from smoke were 10 times what they usually are in Brisbane and on the Gold Coast.
Similar conditions are expected to return from Tuesday and into Wednesday, with people warned to limit time outdoors.
Air quality concerns forced a halt to construction work at Brisbane's Queens Wharf project on Tuesday.
The southeast coast including Brisbane and the Gold and Sunshine Coasts face severe fire danger on Tuesday and Wednesday.
That also applies to the drought-stricken Darling Downs and Granite Belt region west of Brisbane, which lost houses earlier this fire season.
Temperatures in some parts of the state are expected to reach six to eight degrees above average on Wednesday.
Australian Associated Press
