Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Katie Woolf spoke with Bushfires NT Chief Fire Control Officer Andrew Turner

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Katie Woolf spoke with Bushfires NT Chief Fire Control Officer Andrew Turner · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: Three sixty with Katie Wolf On Mixed one oh four
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  Speaker 1: point nine thanks to Joyce Main Darwin. But we do
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  Speaker 1: know that with this beautiful cool weather and also the
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  Speaker 1: light winds about, like I said, it's great for us
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  Speaker 1: sort of feeling as though it's much nicer and drier,
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  Speaker 1: but not so great when we are in the dry
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  Speaker 1: season and when we talk about bushfires. Now joining us
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  Speaker 1: on the line to talk a little bit further about
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  Speaker 1: the conditions today and what we're maybe anticipating down the track,
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  Speaker 1: but also just how prepared we are in the territory
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  Speaker 1: at the moment for those bushfires bushfires NT the Chief
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  Speaker 1: Fire Control Officer, Andrew Turner, good.
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  Speaker 2: Morning to you, goody, How are you?
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, very well, thank You've been a while Andrew.
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  Speaker 1: Last dry season we were on the we were speaking
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  Speaker 1: just about every day as we're in the height of
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  Speaker 1: it all.
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  Speaker 3: How have things been going.
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  Speaker 2: It's been an interesting start to our fire danger period,
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  Speaker 2: as you may well know. This last week we declared
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  Speaker 2: the fire danger period, which which under the Bushfire Management
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  Speaker 2: Act means that anywhere in the territory you are required
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  Speaker 2: to have a permit to burn, and obviously the conditions
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  Speaker 2: we put on the permits are vastly different between now
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  Speaker 2: and during other times of the year. We've had quite
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  Speaker 2: a vigorous start, I would death with the first major
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  Speaker 2: fires happening last Thursday and continuing through our first real
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  Speaker 2: surge of dry air which happened on the weekend Saturday
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  Speaker 2: and Sunday. We're quite intense. We used a lot of volunteers.
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  Speaker 2: There's also quite a bit of complications about a couple
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  Speaker 2: of these things. When the COVID restrictions came through, we
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  Speaker 2: were challenged in making sure we had enough resources around
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  Speaker 2: the place to cover any eventuality.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, that would have been tough, and I'm guessing that
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  Speaker 1: Thursday last week, if you had a vigorous start and
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  Speaker 1: those COVID restrictions in place, it could have been a
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  Speaker 1: difficult one.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, it was challenging. It certainly was. We had start
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  Speaker 2: and volunteers both inside the restricted area and also outside,
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  Speaker 2: and as it turned out, we had size in both areas,
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  Speaker 2: so we were able to sort of direct staff to
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  Speaker 2: the most appropriate one. But it certainly was. We had contractors, obviously,
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  Speaker 2: our aviation contractors, there's a number of those that live
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  Speaker 2: in Darwin and had to travel outside of that to
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  Speaker 2: get to the aircraft. So, you know, following the Chief
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  Speaker 2: Health Officers directions, we claimed essential worker status for those
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  Speaker 2: but it was still you know, another process to go through.
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  Speaker 2: It's the new normal for US, I guess, so we
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  Speaker 2: need to stay up with those trends.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, hi, And then I know yesterday there was a
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  Speaker 1: fire in Acacia Hills but it was all under control.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, it looked like some sort of fire is not
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  Speaker 2: from personal persons unknown that was traveling on the Stuart Highway.
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  Speaker 2: It moved very quickly. It was right in that pig
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  Speaker 2: part of the windiness yesterday early afternoon and it took
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  Speaker 2: about three or four hours to bring under control. We
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  Speaker 2: did get it between containment lines, but it took several
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  Speaker 2: hours last night from quite a few volunteer crews working
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  Speaker 2: to burn out that existing fuel within the containment area.
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  Speaker 2: But then we ended up doing that. At one stage
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  Speaker 2: it was it did look quite great. We were unsure
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  Speaker 2: whether the original containment line was going to hold, and
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  Speaker 2: it was the use of fire flighting aircraft to help
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  Speaker 2: knock down the front so that the volunteer crews could
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  Speaker 2: get in behind it.
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  Speaker 1: That was the strategy that we use good stuff and
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  Speaker 1: they do a phenomenal job, the volunteers and everybody at bushfires.
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  Speaker 1: Nt I know that, you know, it's always sort of
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  Speaker 1: a busy time making sure that you are prepared for
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  Speaker 1: anything that comes your way. Excuse me, during the during
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  Speaker 1: the dry season, have you have you obviously undertaken quite
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  Speaker 1: a bit of work this time round as well to
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  Speaker 1: make sure that your crews are fully prepared as we
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  Speaker 1: do enter what probably will be more difficult conditions. I'm
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  Speaker 1: assuming as we get further into the dry.
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  Speaker 2: Certainly we're very busy throughout the year. Lot of planning
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  Speaker 2: goes into preparing properties. The legislation is that it's the
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  Speaker 2: landholder's responsibility to prepare their property, so our role is
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  Speaker 2: to assist them in their planning and give them advice
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  Speaker 2: as to the best strategies that they can employ. And
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  Speaker 2: then once the season starts, we have a coordinating role
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  Speaker 2: where we coordinate our volunteer brigades who do a phenomenal job,
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  Speaker 2: as you said, and we also called coordinate government assets
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  Speaker 2: such as the contracted aircraft and contracted earth moving equipment
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  Speaker 2: once a wildfire and white starter.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, hey, Andrew, we know that. Last week, well, it
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  Speaker 1: was territory Day. We didn't get to celebrate in the
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  Speaker 1: same way that we usually would. My understanding is that
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  Speaker 1: there's been a bit of discussion on the ABC over
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  Speaker 1: the weekend whether we need to look at doing it
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  Speaker 1: at a different time of the year when it's not
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  Speaker 1: so dangerous in terms of fires.
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  Speaker 2: I've got a personal view, Katie, and that is that
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  Speaker 2: there are other parts of the year that might be
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  Speaker 2: better suited to it. The fire danger period, which was
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  Speaker 2: declared last week and go for about four or five months,
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  Speaker 2: dictates that you require a permit to burn it any
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  Speaker 2: time during that period, and that's I think, you know,
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  Speaker 2: My view is that's what you're doing when you're light
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  Speaker 2: to fire work is potentially starting a fire. So that's
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  Speaker 2: my view.
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  Speaker 3: When would be a better time to do it?
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  Speaker 2: Look, a month ago would have been quite suitable, and
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  Speaker 2: probably November, you know, it frees up, the strong drying
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  Speaker 2: winds tend to go away. It doesn't need to be
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  Speaker 2: in the pouring rain. It could well be just the
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  Speaker 2: shoulder season to the dry season. I understand this. You know,
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  Speaker 2: it's a bext question for the decision makers. There's a
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  Speaker 2: lot of people travel up here for it. It's probably
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  Speaker 2: the only place in Australia, you get to exercise that freedom,
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  Speaker 2: so you know, it's a big decision. I just quite
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  Speaker 2: often see the ramifications, you know, the impact on our
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  Speaker 2: volunteer crews and our resources in the days afterwards when
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  Speaker 2: people do unfortunately act irresponsibly.
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  Speaker 3: Just on that, like how.
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  Speaker 1: Big an impact is it for the volunteers and for
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  Speaker 1: bushfires into in the aftermath of Territory Day. You know,
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  Speaker 1: when we do see in a lot of cases there
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  Speaker 1: are bushfires around the place, and it does mean that
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  Speaker 1: it's a busy period.
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  Speaker 3: I'm assuming.
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely very busy around Territory Day. Normally. It was a
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  Speaker 2: relief last year when we didn't have that additional pressure
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  Speaker 2: on us when the COVID restrictions were on. But yeah,
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  Speaker 2: it comes down to people doing the wrong thing. You know,
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  Speaker 2: you've got a limited amount of time when you're legally
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  Speaker 2: allowed to let these things off, and unfortunately they're so
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  Speaker 2: portable and whatever that someone could light one and throw
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  Speaker 2: it and there's no very little chance of them being
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  Speaker 2: identified as the cause of the problem. And it happens
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  Speaker 2: for days and days and even weeks afterwards. Here High
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  Speaker 2: Works over the weekend on Saturday evening, I heard a
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  Speaker 2: few few go off with these creeks, so people still
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  Speaker 2: do have fireworks from either previous years or whenever. Yeah,
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  Speaker 2: it's interesting that you'd save one that long.
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  Speaker 3: But yeah, I thought the same.
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  Speaker 1: We heard some getting let off sort of near to
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  Speaker 1: near the city as well, and I thought the same thing.
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  Speaker 1: I thought, geez, you know, it's sort of surprising that
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  Speaker 1: you'd save them for that long, and I wonder if
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  Speaker 1: it becomes a bit more dangerous, But that's a question
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  Speaker 1: for you know, those the authorities, I suppose.
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  Speaker 3: Andrew mate.
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  Speaker 1: Always good to catch up with you, and I'm assuming
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  Speaker 1: that we'll probably be talking to you a bit more
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  Speaker 1: as the dry season progresses.
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  Speaker 2: Thanks very much, Katie, and yeah, I hope everybody stay safe.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah you too, thank you. That's Bushfires MT. There. The
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  Speaker 3: chief fire Control Officer, Andrew Turner