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Speaker 1: We did hear from Joshua Fisher just a short time

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Speaker 1: ago from Northern Territory Fire and Rescue Service about the

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Speaker 1: situation up here in the top end when it comes

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Speaker 1: to some of the fires that are being well being

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Speaker 1: kept under control, but it is quite a strain on

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Speaker 1: resources at this point. We also know though, that's in

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Speaker 1: the Barkley region well, that fire that's been raging for

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Speaker 1: quite some time continues to rage on. And joining us

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Speaker 1: on the line to let us know about the situation

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Speaker 1: at this point is Tony Fuller from Bushfire's NT Good

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Speaker 1: morning to you, Tony.

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Speaker 2: Good morning, Tony.

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Speaker 1: What's the situation in the Barkley at the moment.

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Speaker 2: At the moment, we've got a sag amount of fire

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Speaker 2: impacting the highway, which we expected to occur. We've managed

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Speaker 2: to put a backburning from the north of the highway

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Speaker 2: south to the highway using some lines that the cattle

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Speaker 2: stations have put there. Actually they're the ones that put

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Speaker 2: the fire there today. The crews have been working throughout

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Speaker 2: the night to do that. Some pretty precurious whether they

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Speaker 2: had to jump over last night which they managed to

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Speaker 2: get hold of and then continue to put that burn in.

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Speaker 2: So the fire. The backburn's actually moving along the highway

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Speaker 2: and we intend to light up south of the highway

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Speaker 2: as well now so that we can eliminate any more

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Speaker 2: threats to the highway in the next hopefully within twenty

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Speaker 2: four hours.

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Speaker 1: And at this point, Tony, I mean, is it the weather.

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Speaker 1: Is that what's sort of flaring things up again or

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Speaker 1: what's the guy?

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Speaker 2: No, look at the fire has been backing for a

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Speaker 2: while now, and the stations have done a heap of

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Speaker 2: work putting in some significant control lines that the one

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Speaker 2: to the north is about fifty kilometers long and the

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Speaker 2: one to the south is I think it extends about

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Speaker 2: one hundred and fifty kilometers. So they've been punching along

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Speaker 2: with the heavy machinery trying to widen some containment lines

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Speaker 2: along there. You know, at stages there four or five

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Speaker 2: greater which wide, so you know, imagine the effort they've

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Speaker 2: had to put in to do that. That said, the

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Speaker 2: fire to the north that escaped four or five blade

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Speaker 2: white containment line last night. So just the pinaky weather

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Speaker 2: with the wind's changing, and just as we keep saying,

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Speaker 2: it just takes one spark to jump that line, and

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Speaker 2: all our efforts have changed pretty quickly.

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Speaker 1: Yeah. Now I also know based on what Josh had

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Speaker 1: said to us a little while ago that obviously the

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Speaker 1: Barkley highways closed during one area. It's closed at the moment,

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Speaker 1: but there were still trucks trying to get through and

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Speaker 1: he touched on one I believe carrying hay, another with cotton,

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Speaker 1: and at least one of those catching fire. Is that correct?

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Speaker 2: No, there was one on the Barklay that caught fire

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Speaker 2: the other day, right, some cotton that was put out.

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Speaker 2: I think they actually will the truck themselves put that

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Speaker 2: one out. They had quite a few extinguishers they had

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Speaker 2: to put that out. We had a hay truck catch

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Speaker 2: fire yesterday on the Arnhem Highway in that big fire

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Speaker 2: that we had down at the aerial farms, but luckily

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Speaker 2: there was some crews around and that was extinguished as well.

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Speaker 2: So yeah, there the two that I think Josh is

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Speaker 2: referred to.

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Speaker 1: How did that one happen with the hay Was it

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Speaker 1: like an area that was closed off? Did or what

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Speaker 1: was the guy?

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Speaker 2: Unfortunately, that fire yesterday was very very quick. The road

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Speaker 2: wasn't actually closed, but there was a lot of fire

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Speaker 2: and smoke impacting the Arnham Highway. There's plenty of footage

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Speaker 2: around on Facebook and that that chose just how bad

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Speaker 2: that was. But Katie, right across the territory at the moment,

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Speaker 2: we've got fire impacting just about every highway at different locations.

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Speaker 2: There's a really large fire west of Timber Creek at

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Speaker 2: the moment on a vern station there's significant fire and

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Speaker 2: smoke impacting that. And the Bunti and Carpenteria highways, they've

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Speaker 2: all got fire impacting them.

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Speaker 1: What's your advice for those that are out on the road.

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Speaker 1: I mean, when you've got, like when you've got that

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Speaker 1: number of highways that are impacted at this point, what's

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Speaker 1: the advice for people this morning?

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Speaker 2: Well, just to check the road reports and the fire

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Speaker 2: map of fire maps, just work out where the fires

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Speaker 2: are and reconsider your trouble. You know, if you if

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Speaker 2: you are traveling along there, just take care of slow down.

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Speaker 2: That's the biggest thing. We've got people that seem to

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Speaker 2: think that one hundred and thirty KI speed limit still

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Speaker 2: applies when they're slayed on the road. But slow down,

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Speaker 2: put the headlights on, and be aware of what potentially

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Speaker 2: could be of you.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, Tony tell us, you know you and I have

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Speaker 1: spoken quite a bit over the recent months, and I

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Speaker 1: know that our bushfires and t crews are working incredibly hard,

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Speaker 1: Like is it having a strain at this point, you know,

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Speaker 1: given the fact that these fires just seem to be ongoing.

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Speaker 1: I know that you know the areas of them have

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Speaker 1: changed to some degree, but I've no doubt that you

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Speaker 1: know that your staff and those volunteers have done so

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Speaker 1: much over the last few months.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, Look, it's not just us the station owners. They've

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Speaker 2: been put in the heaps of work that We've got

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Speaker 2: a large fires south of Alice Springs at the moment

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Speaker 2: on Unduly. The station and those staff down there or

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Speaker 2: their staff are working hard on that. But yeah, you're

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Speaker 2: right to it's it's been pretty taxing on the team,

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Speaker 2: but they're soldiering on and they'll keep going. And the

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Speaker 2: volleys have been outstanding, particularly all right across the territory.

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Speaker 2: We've also got the rural Fire Service from New South

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Speaker 2: Wales out on the Barkley at the moment, not enjoying

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Speaker 2: the Blue Mountains. They're sitting out in the Barkley in

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Speaker 2: the desert and fighting fires out there, so it's a

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Speaker 2: little bit different for them. And we have a second

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Speaker 2: team flying in later this week to swap out the

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Speaker 2: team that's out of the Barkley at the moment, and

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Speaker 2: we're just working out where, if they come, where we

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Speaker 2: deploy them, but at this stage will probably Central Australia

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Speaker 2: given the number of fires that we've got around Alice

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Speaker 2: Springs as well.

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Speaker 1: Are you expecting the conditions to subside or get any

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Speaker 1: better anytime soon?

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Speaker 2: In the top end, We're hoping in the next couple

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Speaker 2: of weeks that Shenna and her team Bomb can wrestle

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Speaker 2: up some rain for us, But other than that, we're

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Speaker 2: expecting the conditions to get worse in Central Australia and

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Speaker 2: we'll moving a lot, focusing a lot of our efforts

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Speaker 2: to the south. Yeah, I was going to say.

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Speaker 1: And in some ways, I suppose does it make it like,

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Speaker 1: once we do start to get that rain, I'm assuming

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Speaker 1: that you can at least maybe get some of those

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Speaker 1: resources down to Central Australia if required.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, We've already started transitioning our staff members down there

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Speaker 2: and vehicles, so that's already happening.

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Speaker 1: Well, Tony Fuller, it sounds like you're very busy at

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Speaker 1: this point in time. I know that bushfires nt always

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Speaker 1: are busy. A big thanks to you and all your

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Speaker 1: staff and your volunteers who are continuing to do a

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Speaker 1: tremendous job.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, thank you, Katie.

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Speaker 1: It's like you two