Stradbroke Island resident grateful not to lose home Smoke fills the air over North Stradbroke Island. Photo: Fletcher Sigley Fletcher Sigley knows he was lucky not to lose his home in the North Stradbroke Island fire that continues to burn south-east of Brisbane. Mr Sigley lives at the island's airstrip, which is completely surrounded by dense bushland. "You look at how close it was to the buildings and it's surprising they're still there," he said. Bushfires at North Stradbroke Island. It was a couple of feet away - that's how close it was. Unlike some other populated parts of the island, there is little space between the bush and the buildings at the airstrip, about 3½ kilometres south-east of the island's Dunwich township. "That was one of the things we were worried about, but it's one of the things people like about coming here in the holiday shacks," he said. Smoke fills the air at North Stradbroke Island. They love the place because they're so remote, but it does have its disadvantages. Two caravans near the airstrip were lost, Mr Sigley said, though they did have more warning than most. Being at the airfield, out of town, we knew it was coming. We could see it a lot more clearly, because we're on the other side of the hill," he said. A helicopter water bombs the bushfire on North Stradbroke Island. I have to give my thanks to the firies, they did a good job. There's no doubt about it. They were setting up containment lines well in advance of what was going on. Like any small community, information on the island flows fast. During the fire, Mr Sigley said, not all of it was accurate. So he took a plane up with his pilot brother for a birds' eye view on Monday. "The funny thing is you hear all these different stories around town, but the only way to take a look at what was going on was to have a look for yourself," he said. It was pretty heavy, the smoke was pretty thick. On Tuesday evening authorities downgraded the watch and act alert to an advice alert, the lowest level of warning. Smoke billows over North Stradbroke Island. A Queensland Fire and Emergency Services spokesman said "efforts fighting the fire [on Tuesday] afternoon were successful"." It had been expected that the fire, which was fanned by strong winds, would reach Moyra Springs in the evening. No properties were under threat, people were returning to their homes and an evacuation centre at Dunwich had been closed, the spokesman said. A kangaroo seeks shelter from the bushfires. ""Crews will monitor the fire throughout the night and [Wednesday],"" he said. The blaze was started by a lightning strike last week. No homes have been damaged but the fire prompted the evacuation of about 900 campers on New Year's Day.