Queensland’s disastrous bushfire season has claimed four lives,  destroyed dozens of homes, damaged vital rural infrastructure and stretched resources as firefighters battled more than a thousand blazes in the past month.

And they’re not done yet.

More than 50 Fire and Rescue Service and Rural Fire Service vehicles were battling more than 50 blazes across Queensland on Tuesday as the state counted the cost of a thousand fires since October 21.

A prepare-to-leave notice was in place for properties at Jondaryan, near Dalby in the Western Downs region, on Tuesday afternoon, with residents warned conditions could get worse quickly.

Deputy Premier Steven Miles told parliament on Tuesday more than 130 structures had been destroyed in the past month.

“More than 60 households were assisted with emergency accommodation in hotels, motels and caravans in the Western Downs alone,” he said.

“It’s estimated that 729km of fencing, 32km of private roads and 301km of levees and channels have also been damaged.”

More than $420,000 in hardship payments have been made to more than 2000 eligible Queenslanders from 15 local government areas – numbers Mr Miles said would “continue to increase”.

In the Western Downs, 23 caravans moved to the Tara showgrounds are providing temporary accommodation for 13 households.

More than 360 large square bales of fodder have been delivered to bushfire-affected farmers, with a Bushfire Fodder Taskforce established to assist primary producers seeking emergency livestock feed.

“Queensland’s firefighters including our Rural Fire Service, assisted by volunteers from interstate, have done an incredible job to keep communities safe and protect properties from bushfires,” Mr Miles said.

Deputy Premier Steven Miles paid tribute to firefighters, who he said had done an incredible job.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk told parliament the 74 houses, 62 sheds and 12 mobile homes confirmed lost did not tell “the whole story”.

“They do not tell of the 387 homes that were saved,” she said.

“They do not tell of the skill and courage of more than a thousand firefighters who once again ran towards danger and risked their lives to save others, or the 74 drops our Large Aerial Tanker made to protect lives and properties.

“They do not tell of the police who went door to door to warn people to get out and seek safety.”

Ms Palaszczuk paid tribute to those who had lost their lives in the fires.

“Four lives have been lost including three firefighters whose plane crashed near Cloncurry, among them, a young American who’d joined the firefighting effort in Australia simply because he wanted to help,” she said.

“He was part of a team performing fire-mapping that undoubtedly saved lives.

“We owe them a debt we can never repay.”

People can donate to the Red Cross, Give-it, St Vincent de Paul, the Salvation Army, Lifeline and Rural Aid as part of the government’s bushfire appeal.

– AAP