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

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: We know that there is a five and declared for
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: today and joining us on the line to tell us
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: a little bit more bushfires enties. Andrew Turner, Good morning, Andrew. Okay, Katie,
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: sorry to keep you waiting, Andrew. I know it's looking
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: like it's going to be quite difficult conditions today and.
• 0:17
  Speaker 2: Certainly today the gusts of winds getting up to about
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: forty kilometers an hour, and it's quite a long period
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: up to between four and six hours of very windy
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: and dry conditions today, but it leads and progresses into
• 0:33
  Speaker 2: some even worsening weather tomorrow and Wednesday.
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: Well, so this is expected to last for a couple
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: of days, and as you just said, worstening tomorrow.
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: Near the peak of it is probably tomorrow and Wednesday.
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: The Bureau is sort of not discounting anything. It could
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: go as long as Friday or even Saturday. So quite
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: a prolonged period of fire weather. And during that entire
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: time it'll be soon the dry, super hot, and very
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: very windy.
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  Speaker 1: Andrew, how things going right now? Are there any active
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: fires as we speak?
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  Speaker 2: I'm touching wood at the moment. No, there's no fires
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  Speaker 2: that have been reported, but we are on standby the
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: weather is such that we had a couple of fires
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  Speaker 2: over the weekend and very easily put out. The level
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: of humidity was far greater, But just overnight the dry
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  Speaker 2: air came through, and those same fires if they occurred today,
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: it would be a very different question about how we
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: might control them.
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  Speaker 1: How do you prepare for days like this? I know
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  Speaker 1: that you guys are really you know, you're prepared for anything,
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  Speaker 1: but it sounds like they're going to be pretty difficult conditions,
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: certainly tomorrow on Wednesday.
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  Speaker 2: Certainly there's a level of planning that goes in prior
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: to the weather itself. We've got an incident management team established,
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: so we've got people in the position and undertaking certain
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: duties that assist us when something does get going, we
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: can get going straight away. We've also got contractor resources
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  Speaker 2: on available to us as well. We've got firefighting aircraft
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  Speaker 2: and some helicopters as well as earth moving equipment, so
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  Speaker 2: if we do need them, they're on call and they're
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: ready to go immediately.
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  Speaker 1: And it is being reported by some other media outlets
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  Speaker 1: that they could. You know, the conditions that we're expecting
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  Speaker 1: could be the worst that we've seen so far this year.
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: Is that right?
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  Speaker 2: Certainly that's what the Bureau, the Senior forecast is there
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  Speaker 2: have been telling us that this has the potential to
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  Speaker 2: get into the extreme category and that would be the
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  Speaker 2: by far the worst weather that we've experienced so far
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  Speaker 2: this year.
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  Speaker 1: Are there any locations in particular, Andrew, that you are
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  Speaker 1: most concerned about? At this point?
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  Speaker 2: It's windy and dry right across the top end, however,
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  Speaker 2: in the Darwin to Adelaide River fire Weather forecast area
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  Speaker 2: that's the fireband declaration for today. Tomorrow it broadens and
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: takes in Dundee and points to it and becomes as
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  Speaker 2: wide as the Well. It's anticipated it will become as
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  Speaker 2: wide as the Northern fire Protection Zone and then Wednesday
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  Speaker 2: it'll extend south to Catterm as well. So it's quite
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: a large trench of the territory.
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: Yeah, what's your advice for locals this morning? I know
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  Speaker 1: that you know hopefully people are as prepared as possible,
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  Speaker 1: But what is your advice.
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: It's pretty much the same as always have a plan,
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: stick to that plan, understand what you are going to do.
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  Speaker 2: If a flyer doestn't and if you do see a fire,
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: please report it to triples thereon, because it is the
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: quickest way to get a response.
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: Anything else we should be this morning aware of this morning, Andrew, No,
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: just probably.
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: A heads out to the volunteers. We've got quite a
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  Speaker 2: few of them that have expressed some readiness as well,
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  Speaker 2: so if any fires do get going, it will be
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  Speaker 2: largely the volunteer manpower that will be used to control them.
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: Good on them. I mean it's a tough job. I
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: know it's a tough job for all of you, but
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  Speaker 1: a big shout out to those volunteers and everybody involved
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  Speaker 1: as you head into what could be a difficult few days. Absolutely,
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  Speaker 1: Thanks Andrew, I always appreciate your time. Thank you very
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: much for having a chat with us this morning.
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: Thanks Katie.
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: That's Bushfires NTS. Andrew Turner there,