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Speaker 1: It was a big weekend for our firefighters with the

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Speaker 1: Barkley Highway closed and crews bought in from southern States

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Speaker 1: to help to control a bushfire half the size of

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Speaker 1: Tasmania in the Barkley that broke out at the end

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Speaker 1: of well, that was at the end of August, and

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Speaker 1: we know that that continues to be a concern. But

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Speaker 1: there was also multiple watch and act eluts issued for

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Speaker 1: bushfires in the rural area, one in Howard Springs but

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Speaker 1: also another in Bora Lula as I understand it. And

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Speaker 1: joining me in the studio to talk more about the

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Speaker 1: situation across the territory right now is the acting Chief

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Speaker 1: Fire Officer, Joshua Fisher. Good morning, josh morning, Katie, Thanks

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Speaker 1: so much for your time. Now talk us through what

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Speaker 1: fires are sort of active at this point.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, so this morning we're back at the fire in

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Speaker 2: Howard Springs. So that was reported yesterday at about quarter

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Speaker 2: past eleven in the Langton Road area near Dutchy's Lagoon

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Speaker 2: in Howard Springs. That fire quickly spread and firefighters were

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Speaker 2: attempting to install some control lines when the fire then

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Speaker 2: crossed those and headed in a southerly direction towards Evelyna Court,

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Speaker 2: Sampiper Grove, Thornville Crescent and Curralong Drive. We had four

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Speaker 2: fire fighting fire trucks there and thirteen grass fire units

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Speaker 2: supported with bushfires INTA with two planes and one helicopter.

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Speaker 2: So quite a difficult fire to contain as it was

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Speaker 2: burning through the lagoon and we had to undertake a

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Speaker 2: number of asset protection works around rural properties right around

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Speaker 2: that whole lagoon.

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Speaker 1: How did it go? Was there any property lost?

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Speaker 3: It's not reported to be any property loss.

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Speaker 2: However, there is obviously significant area that is burnt, and

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Speaker 2: I imagine that there'll be some fence lines that would

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Speaker 2: have been impacted, possibly irrigation and the like on rural properties,

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Speaker 2: but not reported to be any structural losses.

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Speaker 1: Oka, what was the biggest concern? I guess out there

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Speaker 1: you would have been keeping an eye on that property.

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Speaker 1: I'm assuming that was one of the major.

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Speaker 3: Concerns surrounding Dutchy's Lagoon.

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Speaker 2: There's quite a lot of residential property, and so our

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Speaker 2: concerns was that fire spreading into those residential properties and

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Speaker 2: potentially putting at risk those homes. But thankfully, through the

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Speaker 2: efforts of aerial resources supporting the ground crews, and then

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Speaker 2: those continued efforts to contain the fire.

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Speaker 3: We're able to obviously save those properties.

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Speaker 2: But we are out there again today as the fire

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Speaker 2: has flared up this morning and will continue to be

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Speaker 2: there all day today.

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Speaker 1: Is it the weather conditions that are the biggest concerned?

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Speaker 1: I mean I jumped off the plane back from Sydney yesterday.

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Speaker 1: Firstly the plane needed like it had to have a

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Speaker 1: couple of attempts at landing because of the wind. Was

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Speaker 1: that like, is that the biggest warrior at the moment,

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Speaker 1: that wind with the very hot conditions.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, certainly yesterday afternoon it was quite hot, warm and

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Speaker 2: those strong winds. But also this area that was burning

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Speaker 2: had a significant fuel load, so that obviously drove the

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Speaker 2: fire to move throughout that lagoon area into the back

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Speaker 2: of properties. So the main driver there was the fuel load,

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Speaker 2: But certainly at times we had those wind gusts that

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Speaker 2: did shift the fire quickly.

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Speaker 1: Are those conditions expected to stick.

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Speaker 2: Around we're looking at for the top end at least

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Speaker 2: high fire danger.

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Speaker 3: We're not seeing anything on the radar.

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Speaker 2: That's forecast to see us back into firebands at the

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Speaker 2: weather here in the top end. But if we move

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Speaker 2: right across the territory. We have a fire banding place

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Speaker 2: in the Barkley North and Barkley South. Today we do

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Speaker 2: have some areas of the Barkley North that are likely

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Speaker 2: to reach catastrophic fired anger and that is purely driven

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Speaker 2: from the wind strength that is across the Barkley at

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Speaker 2: this point in time.

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Speaker 1: Talk us through what the situation is there. Is it

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Speaker 1: Northern Territory Fire and Rescue Service that has got carriage

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Speaker 1: or is it bushfires into and where are things at?

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Speaker 2: So bushfires into The Control Agency for the Berkeley Fire

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Speaker 2: NTFARIUS is supporting them through resources and IMT support staff

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Speaker 2: where possible, and as you mentioned, there is a cohort

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Speaker 2: of twelve I think it is a rural fire service

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Speaker 2: volunteers that are also assisting along with landholders that are

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Speaker 2: putting in quite a consolidated effort on the north eastern

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Speaker 2: front of this fire along the Barkley Highway. So the

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Speaker 2: Barkley Highway has been shut obviously for safety concerns. We've

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Speaker 2: had instances of trucks moving through their carrying cotton and

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Speaker 2: hay that have inadvertently caught fire as a result of

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Speaker 2: embers and passing through along the road side. So decision

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Speaker 2: has been made to shut the highway to prevent those

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Speaker 2: risks from occurring.

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Speaker 1: So there's actually been trucks that have caught fire as

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Speaker 1: a result of that.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, that's correct, yep. So we've had cotton trucks and

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Speaker 3: hay trucks.

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Speaker 2: Yesterday, I'm led to believe from bushfires into that a

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Speaker 2: hay truck caught fire in the middle Arm area along

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Speaker 2: Anzac Parade as it traversed through a fire that was

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Speaker 2: burning both sides of the road there. So certainly there's

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Speaker 2: a message there around anyone that's looking to travel through fire,

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Speaker 2: you know, think twice. If there's roadblocks in place, obey them,

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Speaker 2: don't travel through fire. If fire agencies or police order,

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Speaker 2: the Department of Infrastructure Planning the logistics have closed the road,

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Speaker 2: there's a good reason for it. But we also ask

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Speaker 2: people to have common sense and if they're carrying goods

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Speaker 2: that are flammable, maybe pull up and give it some time.

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Speaker 1: Was that lacking yesterday? Was that common sense lacking or

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Speaker 1: was it just a bit of an accident.

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Speaker 2: It might a question for bushfires into that. Obviously we're

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Speaker 2: the control agency, but certainly it adds to the concerns

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Speaker 2: that we have as we're trying to fight a fire,

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Speaker 2: that we've got a secondary fire that then happens to ignite.

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Speaker 1: Well, look, we all try and get in contact with

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Speaker 1: bushfires into I reckon to get a bit of an

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Speaker 1: update from them, because it does sound as though it

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Speaker 1: was an evolving situation yesterday. But just how big is

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Speaker 1: that fire in the Barkley at this point?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, it's quite a large fire. I think it's, as

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Speaker 2: you mentioned, half the size of Tasmania. It's continuing to grow,

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Speaker 2: it'll grow larger as they finish their back burning operations

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Speaker 2: to contain that northeastern front of this fire that's backing

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Speaker 2: along the Stuart Highway. They're obviously trying to prevent it

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Speaker 2: getting into additional pastoral land to obviously protect grass for

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Speaker 2: the remainder of the dry season in the summer months.

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Speaker 3: Down in the Barkley.

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Speaker 2: So it's been a significant mammoth effort from all agencies,

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Speaker 2: you know, bushfires into land owners. The support we've had,

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Speaker 2: we've had over one hundred and fifteen interstate firefighters and

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Speaker 2: support staff in the territory to support us. Obviously, you know,

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Speaker 2: both bush fires into and into your forest. We don't

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Speaker 2: have large resources and so when we get these campaign

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Speaker 2: fire events. You know, if we look at the Barkley

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Speaker 2: it's been going since August, it takes its toll in

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Speaker 2: our resourcing and our fatigue. And so we're very thankful

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Speaker 2: for the support we've had from both South Australia and

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Speaker 2: New South Wales.

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Speaker 1: So just to make it really clear for motorists at

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Speaker 1: this point, the Barkley Highway is still closed.

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Speaker 3: That's great, yep.

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Speaker 1: Okay, Now, just in terms of the other fire then

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Speaker 1: at Bora Lula, what's the situation there.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, so we had a fire on the weekend that

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Speaker 2: started near the caravan park and quickly spread. Our Borilulla

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Speaker 2: Fire and Emergency Response Group volunteers responded. Unfortunately, two sheds

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Speaker 2: were destroyed. Has that fire moved very very rapidly into

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Speaker 2: the outskirts of town. But a really great response from

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Speaker 2: the community. The whole community come together to assist our

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Speaker 2: volunteers to suppress this fire and to contain it from

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Speaker 2: and from preventing any further losses. So really my thanks

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Speaker 2: goes out to the Borrolula community and our volunteers out

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Speaker 2: there that responded and quickly worked in what was challenging

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Speaker 2: conditions locally there.

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Speaker 1: And so things are under control now they are, yes, Yeah,

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Speaker 1: tell me what are the conditions looking like this week?

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Speaker 1: What kind of week do you think you're going to have.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, Look, we've got some continued sort of fire weather

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Speaker 2: right across sort of the Berkley and the Barkley South.

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Speaker 2: So as I mentioned, we've got catastrophic pockets of catastrophic

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Speaker 2: fired angel in the Barkley North today, we've got wind

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Speaker 2: gus up to fifty kilometers an hour. Looking out to

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Speaker 2: Wednesday and Thursday, we're looking at the Barkley North being

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Speaker 2: extreme for both days and then sort of high and

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Speaker 2: moderate elsewhere across the territory. But as we've continually mentioned,

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Speaker 2: we're in a unique fire season this year where we've

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Speaker 2: got both fires occurring in the Top End and Central

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Speaker 2: Australia at the same time. Usually we don't see that,

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Speaker 2: not to the extent where we've got campaign fire events

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Speaker 2: going and watching act level fires and homes at risking

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Speaker 2: the Top End.

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Speaker 3: That's quite a unique setting for us.

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Speaker 1: How big a strain is that putting on our services

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Speaker 1: like NT Fire and Rescue Service, but also other likes

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Speaker 1: of bushfires NT and I know they'll speak for themselves,

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Speaker 1: but how big a strain is that putting on your services?

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Speaker 2: Well, at this point in time, we've got over twenty

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Speaker 2: active fires that are occurring right across the territory, and

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Speaker 2: yesterday afternoon every major highway in the NT was being

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Speaker 2: impacted by fire. So you know, as I mentioned, we're

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Speaker 2: in twenty six locations across the territory and bushfires into

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Speaker 2: and four supported by their volunteers and their fire protection zones.

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Speaker 2: It puts a normoustrain where we've got campaign fire events.

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Speaker 2: We're really good at dealing with quick successive incidents, but

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Speaker 2: when we've got a campaign fire event like the Barkley

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Speaker 2: which is drawing resources and then continuing with our other

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Speaker 2: businesses usual arrangements across the NT, it can take its still.

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Speaker 2: So fatigue is real front of mind for both agencies

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Speaker 2: at this time.

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Speaker 1: Well, Joshua Fisher, the acting Chief Fire off us so

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Speaker 1: forth the Northern Territory, I always appreciate your time. Thanks

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Speaker 1: so much for joining us today.

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Speaker 3: Thanks Coatie, thank you