Air crews fly in to assist fireys
Swansea blaze an early test for ‘aireys’
FIREFIGHTERS hope to extinguish a 3850ha blaze at Swansea on the East Coast before Christmas in the first summer season test for the state’s aviation fleet.
The McNeills Rd bushfire was sparked by a lightning strike on December 2.
It has not moved east for two days and last night remained 1.5km from the Swansea township. No properties were under direct threat.
Aircraft and heavy machinery have been supporting firefighters from Tasmania Fire Service, Parks and Wildlife Service and Sustainable Timber Tasmania in dealing with the blaze.
Crews will continue back burning operations to strengthen containment lines over the next few days.
PWS state fire manager Paul Black yesterday described the terrain as “hot, dry and dusty”.
But TFS Chief Officer Chris Arnol said he did not anticipate the fire would push any closer towards Swansea.
“The difficulty will be with the northern side of the fire,” he said. “We’ll probably be here for a couple of weeks. Hopefully we will be gone by Christmas and everyone will enjoy the festive season.
“A lack of rainfall means vegetation is very dry, particularly through the East Coast and Midlands. This will only become worse as we move into the New Year.”
Mr Arnol said Tasmania was well placed and resourced for what could be a long summer.
The aviation fleet, which was launched at the Springvale Air Base in Cranbrook yesterday, includes a mix of firebombing and air supervision/ intelligence gathering aircraft.
Five are helicopters and two are fixed-wing.
“Our aircraft will respond to new fire starts as soon as they are reported, to keep fires small until ground crews arrive,” Mr Arnol said at the launch. “Our aviation fleet will be located in Hobart and Launceston so we are able to move aircraft around quickly.
“Aircraft are not the silver bullet, you need troops on the ground to put the fires out. They’re one part of what I would call a total solutions package.”
TFS air attack supervisor Adrian Petrie said aircraft also were used to relay critical information about the size and spread of the fire back to incident management teams and ground crews.
All aircraft will be centrally managed through the newlyestablished State Air Desk, which was a recommendation from the review into last season’s bushfires.
Aside from a core fleet of seven aircraft, Tasmania can call on up to 36 other local aircraft and more than 150 through national aircraft arrangements.
Police, Fire and Emergency Management Minister Mark Shelton said the core fleet was contracted through the National Aerial Firefighting Centre.
“Investment in the national aerial firefighting fleet is a critical part of protecting the Tasmanian community during bushfire season,” he said.
Mr Shelton could not say how much the new contract was worth, but said it was “nowhere near the cost of rebuilding a town”.
He said the bill for aerial support during last summer’s bushfire crisis was about $42 million.
“Last year, of course, was the second largest fire season that Tasmania has ever seen,” he said. “This season is a dry season and we need to deal with what’s in front of us.”