- Published:
- Wednesday 4 November 2015
Victoria’s firefighting aircraft fleet for the 2015/16 bushfire season has commenced being rolled out across the state.
There are 47 aircraft in the base fleet, consisting of fixed wing, helicopters, air tankers and large air cranes that will be available at various times and locations throughout the season. There are also over 100 aircraft available on a call when needed basis.
Aircraft have commenced arriving in the north east of Victoria with Albury Airport welcoming two aircraft today – a fixed wing firebomber and a fixed-wing reconnaissance aircraft – and Benalla welcoming a firebombing helicopter last week.
Later this month Mansfield will once again host a large firebombing Sikorsky S61N helicopter, capable of carrying 4000 litres in its tank or 2850 litres in the bucket attachment.
Its larger cousins and the jewel among the strong fleet – the two Erickson S64E Aircranes – can hold a total of 7500 litres and are scheduled to arrive in early-December at Essendon and Ballarat.
The Country Fire Authority (CFA) and Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) declared fire restrictions across all municipalities in the Hume Region (north east) last week (26 October).
The Fire Danger Period and the Fire Prohibited Period will stay in place until 1 May 2016 unless stated otherwise. This means no fires can be lit on private land within the Hume Region without a permit.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Water, Lisa Neville
“Victoria is bracing for another busy bushfire season and aircraft are an essential tool in supporting ground crews to put fires out.”
“The early arrival of aircraft in the Hume Region has been dictated by the dry conditions and the declaration of the Fire Danger Period and Fire Prohibited Period.The remainder of the fleet will be rolled out during the next four to five weeks as the hot weather and fire danger increases across the state.”
“The arrival of these aircraft increases our emergency service agencies’ capability heading into what will be a challenging fire season.”