Large air tankers to remain in Busselton as autumn bushfire risk looms

Intensely hot, dry and windy conditions have resulted in a large firefighting air tanker and its crew remaining in Busselton this month, with Black Hawk helicopters to stay in town until April. The autumn seasonal bushfire outlook recently released by the Australasian Fire Authorities Council expects the recent intense hot, dry and windy conditions to continue over the next three months. As a result, the aircraft will be kept on call in the South West. Yallingup Bushfire Brigade fire controller captain Matt Muir said the current conditions were unprecedented. “I’ve been doing this job for 25 years and I have never seen it as hot and dry as this,” he said. “Our summer and our fire seasons are getting longer and this year is a classic example. Flora and fauna in our local habitats are showing the strain of these sustained hot dry conditions (and) we are currently very susceptible to bush fires. “People need to stay alert, keep reviewing their bushfire plans and remember if you see smoke please don’t post it to social media, just call 000 immediately.” Commissioner Darren Klemm said the Department of Fire and Emergency Services’ aerial fleet had flown more than 1640 hours across 152 incidents. He said those aircraft had dropped 12,262,946 litres of water and retardant on firegrounds. “It has been a long, challenging season with firefighters responding to 3757 bushfires since October,” he said. “The most severe heat may be gone but the bushfire risk hasn’t. “We have also extended our ‘Got 15 minutes to burn?’ advertising campaign into autumn because we want to see every West Australian household well prepared with a plan so they can stay safe in an emergency.”