Tactical Air Operations briefing

Bushfires NT members from Dundee, Douglas Daly and Elizabeth Valley were joined by NTFRS volunteers from Virginia Bees Creek, Koolpinyah, Humpty Doo and Howard Springs brigades to attend a joint briefing session on Tactical Air Operations at Bushfires NT headquarters.

They had the chance to learn more about the capabilities and limitations of the aerial firefighting resources contracted by Bushfires NT during the 2022 bushfire season and witness the plane drop a few loads of water near the airstrip.

This year Bushfires NT has contracted two rotary wing supervision/observation platforms and four fixed wing bombers. These aircraft will again be supported by a range of local NT Government rotary wing companies with additional helicopters for fire suppression.

Katherine Burn Program

With bushfire season approaching, Edith Farms Volunteer Bushfire Brigade has been working to deliver their mitigation program in their area to reduce the risk from roadside ignitions.

With approximately 90% of nominated works completed with minimum of 70% burn coverage achieved. Bushfires NT assisted Katherine Volunteer Bushfire Brigade to commence their roadside mitigation work on high risk areas. Works completed so far are along the Victoria and Stuart Highways north and south of the Katherine Township. Over 4 days, crews were able to undertake approx. 38kms of works in areas that have been deemed as extreme fire risk. Several adjoining landowners were happy to see the work being completed and offered their services to help get the job done in some tough and trying terrain along boundary fences.

Big thanks to Murph to assist in organising resources at such short notice, great work was done by everyone involved. And thank you to Vernon Arafura Mitigation Seasonal, Brendan Flynn, for travelling down to assist for the days.

Adrian McKenzie
Assets and Capabilities Manager
0417 273 993
BushfiresNT.fleet@nt.gov.au

Soour Gov
Volunteer Program Coordinator
0436 629 710
Soour.Gov@nt.gov.au

Vernon Arafura - Restocking Brigade Vehicle First Aid Kits

Don’t forget to restock your vehicle First Aid Kits before this year’s fire season kicks off.

We have a number of vehicle First Aid Kits ready to swap out with your existing kits here at BFNT Headquarters (these include an extra Burn module and bandaging for snake bite).

We’ll only have limited in stock at a given time, so please contact BFNT staff to arrange a time to come in and swap them out with your old ones.

Assistance during the fire season

Brendan Flynn, Craig Tomich and Stefan Diprose

Bill McLeod

Mia Cassidy

Bushfires NT have engaged 5 Seasonal Operational Support Officers to assist with the 2022 Bushfire Season.

A mix of old and new faces will be working out of Acacia Hills office, please feel them welcome if you see them on the fire ground.

Brendan Flynn is born and raised in the NT and have volunteered with Lambells Lagoon for the last 6 years, most people would know me as Lambells 9. Not much more to report unfortunately I am pretty boring. Editor's note: we are delighted to have Brendan join us for the season, it is great to have a local with local knowledge and the many other skills Brendan adds to this years team.

Craig Tomich
Craig’s (Tomo) normal job is in Victoria with Department of Lands, Water and Planning as a Forest Fire Operations Officer for more than 10 years. His work is fire prevention and suppression, planned burning and other emergency response and recovery operations.

Stefan Diprose is from Tasmania where I work for Tasmania Parks & Wildlife Service as a Remote Area Firefighter which I have been doing for 8 seasons, this year I decided to come to the Northern Territory for a different experience to see what wildfires and planned burns are like in the Territory which is completely different to where I am from. I feel this is going to be a great experience which I can take some good knowledge and different skills back home with me to Parks.

Bill McLeod has joined us once again, this will be his 4 fire season as a Seasonal operations officer and is a valuable experienced member to guide our seasonal staff on how Bushfires NT work.

Mia Cassidy after a busy summer and autumn in Tassie with both wildfires and burning I have returned for my second dry season (aka winter escape) in the top end. I look forward to working with familiar faces plus a few new ones over the coming months and seeing what experiences this season brings!

New staff in Katherine

Please welcome the new staff members who have arrived at the Katherine office.

Tommy Garnett
I grew up in Canberra and moved to Wollongong to study science. After university I spent 2 years working in Canada for the British Columbia Wildfire Service. Since then I have worked in Lorne as Project Firefighter, on Melville Island as a Fire Crew Leader and in Ovens on the rappel crew. I’m very excited to live in the Top End and keen to keep learning about fire management in different environments.

Courtney Robinson
Courtney is from a pastoral property in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia. Her and her family settled in Katherine in 2020, after spending several years working around the region running their own livestock contracting business. Courtney is the Business Support Officer in Katherine.

Cameron Gobel

Karlee Dale

New staff in Alice Springs

Please welcome Karlee Dale and Cameron Gobal to the team in the Alice Springs office.

Both Karlee and Cameron have just completed seasonal contracts in the Western District in Victoria and have recent planned burn and fire experience in Victoria within the Wimmera District and on deployments to other parts of Victoria last season.

Karlee moved from a work centre crew mid-season and spent the last 5 months of the Victorian Fire Season in the Wimmera District office assisting with coordination and IMT activities around both the fire response and mitigation programs.

Cameron brings work centre experience on fire crew and a back ground working for Elders in regional Queensland dealing with Pastoral Stations across the Barkly.

Science week

Members of the Gamba Fire Mitigation Unit (GFMU) presented to approximately 120 students from across a variety of Northern Territory schools on the impacts of weeds, fuel loads and fire risks at the recent Santos Science Experience held at CDU between 8-9 June 2022. After in introduction into the harm fire can cause to the environment as a result of unmanaged weeds and the increased fuel load, the year 9 and 10 students were given an opportunity to experiment with the Darwin Rural Fire Simulation tool FireSim (cdu.edu.au).

The students used the opportunity to set various weather conditions in accordance with Northern Territory dry season conditions, experiment with various fuel loads described as gamba and then observe the fire behaviour on activation of the simulator. The simulation tool continues to provide a valuable ‘what if’ with students experimenting broadly across the various scenarios and stimulating well considered conversation and questions regarding weeds, fire impacts and the environment. Many students from rural properties related to the topic through experience and much discussion revolved around what parents did to mitigate the impact of weeds and fire around their own properties. For the team at GFMU, presenting and discussing environmental issues to students interested in the sciences was a valuable and rewarding experience and one that is sure to change conversations around the family home.

Celebrating National Volunteer Week

National Volunteer Week is Australia's largest annual celebration of volunteering , was held during 16 - 22 May.

To celebrate, volunteers were invited to attend an event at NT Parliament House on the 20 May 2022.

Below is Ma Cristina Magbojos, from JMJ Disability Services Pty Ltd, Soour Gov, Bushfires NT and Sam Trott, Dundee enjoying the evening.

Contract award

The contract to construct the next round of Grass Fire Units (GFUs) has recently been awarded. Under this contract a total of 19 GFUs will be constructed over 3 years.

The successful tenderer is G.H. Varley. G.H. Varley is the parent company for Norship Darwin where a significant part of the builds will take place.

A component of the contract is that Bushfires NT will work with Varley to continually review the design of the GFUs taking into consideration ongoing feedback provided by volunteers. Hopefully we have captured a number of the concepts already outlined in the feedback from volunteers into the next version.

The first tranche should be coming off the production line early 2023, we’ll keep you updated as the project progresses.

The intention will be to swap out the vehicles considered ‘beyond economical repair’ as we aim to update and renew our GFUS. Noting that for several brigades their oldest GFUs have been well maintained and are loved by the brigade volunteers. We are challenged by how long it is taking to deliver new vehicles – the last vehicles took over 12 months from ordering to arrive.

New Australian Fire Danger Rating System

Bushfires NT and the Northern Territory Fire and Rescue Service (NTFRS) are working with all other Australian states and territories to implement a national Australian Fire Danger Rating System (AFDRS). The AFDRS will enhance public safety and reduce the impacts of bushfires by improving the scientific accuracy behind fire danger predictions and improving how fire danger is communicated.

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Thank you

The Milne Volunteer Bushfire Brigade would like to publicly acknowledge and thank the Northern Territory Government for its ongoing support by way of a Community Benefit Grant. The grant will pay for the forming and sealing of an internal HQ road that washes out every wet season. This road services our tanker shed and the emergency community cyclone shelter.

The ongoing support the brigade receives is very much appreciated.

Vehicle Biosecurity Training

A number of staff and volunteers have undertaken accredited training with Train Safe NT, to inspect and clean machinery, tools and equipment to reduce the chances of moving soil borne diseases, declared weeds and pest animals.

A demonstration vehicle fresh from a 4WD adventure, was cleaned from top to bottom, inside and out with vacuum cleaners and a high pressure hose, at Bushfires NT purpose-built vehicle clean down bay.

It was particularly great to have Sam Trott representing the Dundee Volunteer Brigade, as the greater Dundee region is on heightened alert for the noxious Siam Weed, which has been found in the area.

Keeping vehicles and machinery clean is the first defence to prevent the spread of contaminants between properties, and to prevent biosecurity risks from threatening farms and exploration sites.

Finke Weekend

The Alice Springs Bushfire Brigade spent the Queen’s Birthday long weekend camped beside the track ready to respond to grass fires and support the Finke Organising Committee and other Emergency Services as required.

Around 10 volunteers spent the weekend either camped at the Command Point or drove out each day. With early starts and late finishes it is always a mighty effort by the volunteers involved. It was relatively quiet over the weekend with the normal injured riders and or spectators.

This year the volunteers were asked to assist with spectator management and on the whole the majority of spectators adhered to the 20 meters from the track and 30 meters for their campsites. Head Chef Dave was in full PPE as he cooked up dinner one night.

Cold mornings and clear crisp days made for a pleasant weekend. It was great to be out there supporting the mighty effort by the brigade.

Fighting Fire with Fire

The highest rainfall in a decade has turned the red earth of Central Australia into a spectacular carpet of green vegetation.

While perennial and annual native species are thriving, so too are the introduced species such as Buffel, Couch and African Love Grass, increasing the risk of wildfires and raising concern for land managers and emergency services.

After five consecutive years of unseasonal dry weather and higher than average temperatures throughout Central Australia, the last two years has seen above average rainfall, this past summer has been the best in a decade.

With that welcome relief comes a cautionary tale. Consecutive wet seasons has prompted a resurgence of annual and perennial native vegetation but the rain is equally a boon for invasive introduced species such as Buffel, Couch and African Love Grass. That spells fire risk. With recent drier and hotter than average autumn days, the grasses are haying off quickly, increasing the fire risk with heavy fuel loads across the landscape.

Bushfires NT (BFNT) and Parks and Wildlife have been hard at work with NTFRS, DIPL, Alice Springs Town Council and other landholders jointly planning fire mitigation strategies both within Alice Springs municipality and across the region.

Within the Emergency Plan Area of Alice Springs, Parks and Wildlife Rangers have been working closely with NTFRS and Bushfires NT to plan their mitigation strategies including slashing grass, cutting mechanical breaks and conducting planned burns to protect life, infrastructure and areas of high ecological value.

In the Todd and Charles Rivers, the Lhere Mparntwe Management Strategy has guided preventative action undertaken by Department Environment, Parks and Water Security (DEPWS) Weed Management unit in collaboration with the Alice Springs Correctional Services work crews to protect the sacred river red gums.

Further afield, in preparation for the influx of tourists, Lee Gleeson & Kaitlyn McCubbin (BFNT) and Elyce Fraser (NTPWC) recently took to the skies to conduct aerial incendiary burns in the Tjoritja West MacDonnell Ranges National Park and Owen Springs Reserve with excellent results. In addition, Parks Rangers and volunteers such as those from Friends of the Larapinta Trail, have been busy slashing around camp grounds and park facilities to ensure park users are safe and infrastructure is protected.

Importantly, Parks and Wildlife Rangers are planning more on ground burning with Central Land Council (CLC) Ranger Groups across Central Australia through Joint Park Management Arrangements.

In neighbouring pastoral properties and Aboriginal land, BFNT is assisting land holders and managers to develop fire management plans that best meet their long term goals while being focussed on the short term protection of valued assets.

The sheer magnitude of the task to bring all the players together is a major operation. The close working relationship between DEPWS personnel from both Parks and Wildlife and Bushfires NT has had a marked and positive impact on this process. In addition, the collaboration and good will between DEPWS, NTFRS, DIPL, Alice Springs Town Council, CLC and other land holders has been exemplary.

We can only predict what the coming summer may bring us. We don’t know of the challenges that we’ll face. We do know that BFNT and Parks and Wildlife have planned and are actively preparing for a potentially busy fire season. That for now, puts us ahead of the game. Well done to all of those involved in our fire preparedness program.

Climate and severe weather outlooks

Recent conditions
Climate outlook
Jurisdictional summaries

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Australian Warning System

The Northern Territory (NT) is joining other states and territories to implement the Australian Warning System (AWS).

The AWS helps to provide consistent warnings so communities know what to do when they see a warning level, no matter what the emergency is or where in Australia they are.

It is a national approach to information and warnings for hazards like bushfire, extreme heat, flood, cyclone and severe weather.

The AWS for each of the hazards will be implemented at different times in the NT.

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Japanese Encephalitis

Encephalitis is inflammation of the brain tissue and is usually caused by an infection. Japanese encephalitis (JE) is a potentially fatal disease caused by the Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV).

Japanese encephalitis spreads when a human is bitten by a mosquito that has previously bitten a pig or a wild waterbird infected with the virus.