They were among about 40 people who had stayed behind at Eungella to help with the firefighting efforts, according to Mackay mayor Greg Williamson.

"A lot of people elected to stay and fight," he said.

Then the fire changed in the dangerous and unpredictable conditions and they decided it was time to get the children and women out.

"The fire is roaring up the hill at Eungella which has been a big shock," the mayor said.

"It just shows how this fire that's been escalating for the last couple of days has just turned nasty on us."

The helicopter was sent to a flat spot on Bees Creek Road in the heart of the Eungella National Park, which has been ringed by fire for days, and took the residents in two loads to Finch Hatton showgrounds.

About 5pm on Friday, the RACQ Central Queensland rescue helicopter was sent to Eungella to airlift the residents.

Firefighters continue to battle 70 blazes in the region, as authorities warn "we are not out of the woods" yet.

Earlier, people fleeing fires at Dalrymple Heights, west of Mackay, were told to go home and seek shelter as it was "not safe to continue travelling".

Emergency services ordered residents to leave at 2.40pm on Friday, but within an hour, they deemed road conditions to be too dangerous.

"Conditions are now very dangerous and firefighters are unable to prevent the fire advancing," the warning said.

"The fire poses a threat to all lives directly in its path."

Residents at Broken River, Finch Hatton, Eungella and Dalrymple Heights will be affected by thick smoke and embers.

Authorities warned heatwave conditions were expected to linger into next week, while a tropical low near the Solomon Islands could move into the northern Coral Sea and intensify into a cyclone during the next five days.

Bureau of Meteorology Queensland state manager Bruce Gunn said there were unprecedented heat and fire weather conditions this week.

"It is a tribute to the hard work and dedication of firefighters, emergency services personnel, volunteers and the actions undertaken by members of the community that we have not seen any loss of life during the past week, but we are by no means through this yet," he said.

Mr Gunn said conditions had eased following the catastrophic fire danger warning on Wednesday but severe to extreme heatwave conditions were expected to continue into next week, extending into the north-west and south-east of the state.

Daytime temperatures were expected to peak about eight to 10 degrees above average in south-east Queensland on Sunday, where severe heatwave conditions could develop.

Queensland paramedics treated 120 cases of heat stroke in the past seven days, which QAS clinical director Tony Hucker said was "pretty good" considering the extreme bushfires.

"The biggest risk obviously is around the fire grounds where people are working really hard, but we need to think about the south-east corner because it is going to be hot down here as well."

Mr Hucker urged people to minimise smoke exposure, drink plenty of water and wear loose-fitting clothing.

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services commissioner Katarina Carroll said assessments of damage caused so far were continuing.

"We are not out of the woods, we've got a heatwave still with us for the next four days, we've got thunderstorms - that interferes with how the fire spreads," she said.

"This is completely difficult and challenging circumstances to work in.

"We have never seen this in our state before."

Ms Carroll said on Thursday there were 350 trucks and 30 aircraft fighting more than 200 fires, while there were more than 114 fires burning on Friday, with 70 fires in central Queensland alone.

Emergency services were on Friday tackling several bushfires, including at Finch Hatton, Eungalla and Tinnanbar.

Earlier, it was revealed two alleged arsonists had been arrested and could face up to 14 years in jail.

Visiting the Miriam Vale evacuation centre, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the bushfire situation was ever-evolving amid unprecedented heatwave conditions.

"I've been briefed that just yesterday, the winds turned so dramatically, 160 degrees, within a couple of hours," she said.

"The firefighters on the ground and the volunteers had to deal with this changing, evolving situation, that is not only putting their lives at risk, but also others," she said.

Ms Palaszczuk said she had spoken to families impacted, which confirmed with her how distressing the situation was.

"People don't know what's happened to their homes, their animals, it is deeply distressing," she said.

Ms Palaszczuk launched the Queensland Bushfire Appeal, with the state government starting it off with a $125,000 donation.

- with Toby Crockford, Jocelyn Garcia and AAP