Bushfire battle ‘humbling’

A Marlborough firefighter who has been fighting 30-metre-high walls of flame in Australia says he’s likely to return to the bushfires next month.

Chris Hayles said the purpose for New Zealanders helping out at the unprecedented fires was clear – to help save lives. That was the priority, followed by saving homes, property and ‘‘anything else significant’’.

The fires were massive and not like the fires he had dealt with in New Zealand, Hayles said, and they had ‘‘very extreme behaviour’’.

The vibe among the communities where he had been was heavy and ‘‘depressing’’, he said. Some Australian farmers hadn’t seen rain for years.

But there were pockets of positivity and ‘‘humbling’’ moments, such as when a stranger came and paid for Hayles’s breakfast. He had saved her house the day before.

Hayles, who is the Marlborough Kaiko¯ ura deputy principal rural fire officer, was deployed to the rural town of Wauchope, about 400 kilometres north of Sydney, on November 17.

He was working as an air attack supervisor, which involved managing all the aircraft in a certain area, and flying his own helicopter.

The crews weren’t trying to put the fire out, he said. ‘‘Something that big with the resources you’ve got, you’re never going to put it out.’’ Instead, they tried to steer the fire away from houses.

About 5 million hectares of land have burned nationwide in Australia over the past few months, with nine people killed and more than 950 homes destroyed. New South Wales has borne the brunt of the damage, with about 850 homes razed.

Hayles was put up in a hotel in Port Mcquarie, along with the rest of the pilots. He said it was a far cry from his last stint fighting fires in Australia, when they were staying in tents. The ground crew were staying in university accommodation blocks.

They ate food supplied by the State Emergency Service, and were also supported by the town

‘‘The local baker would make food or pack salads, and we would eat back at the fire control centre in Wauchope after the night-time briefing.’’

Residents seemed to be struggling under the ‘‘extremely challenging conditions’’, he said. ‘‘But in saying that, if you saw them in town, it’s embarrassing, almost, how they will go out to help you.’’

After two weeks of working up to 16-hour days, Hayles returned to Blenheim late November and was home for Christmas with his family.

A Fire and Emergency NZ spokeswoman said the last Kiwi firefighters returned home the week before Christmas.

‘‘So far this Australian wildfire season, we have sent a total of 157 firefighters to New South Wales and Queensland.’’

Hayles said he thought it was likely that the Kiwis would return to Australia in early January.