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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