The death of two firefighters and the loss of around 40 homes have marked the effective start of the bushfire season across southern Australia and the active engagement of the national aerial firefighting fleet.

Milder conditions today have provided both New South Wales and Tasmania with some respite from extreme fire activity and the opportunity to strengthen containment lines before the heat returns.

Western Australia has had an early hectic start to the season with numerous warnings for fire, storm and heatwave across the vast state. The arrival of a C-130 this week to bolster its 38 aerial firefighting fleet has been welcomed.

The National Aerial Firefighting Centre has 161 aircraft filling 175 services across the country this summer.

Six LATs and 17 Large helicopters are on NAFC contracts this season. Their homebases are in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia. While they are located and managed by the home jurisdictions, the NAFC contracts allow them to be shared across borders. 

Australian Government funds of $100 million over 2024-25 support the NAFC fleet. Additionally, the grant funds the minimum costs of five national aircraft that are dispatched under the protocols facilitated by the National Resource Sharing Centre. This collaboration allows the Chiefs and Commissioners nationally to decide where these national aircraft can be placed so that they can be mobilised easily to the jurisdiction that has the greatest need. These five aircraft are on contract and in position now.

• One National LAT is based in New South Wales, along with its Cessna Birddog aircraft
• One National S61 multi use RW, also based in NSW
• Two National Blackhawks are based in Qld and South Australia

Eight aircraft in the fleet have complementary contracts with North American agencies and follow the fire season to Australia every summer. Their Australian start dates are staggered across the country and all aircraft are in position in time for their contracted starts.

Further information about the NAFC fleet and its contracted operators can be found on the NAFC website Fleet.

The death in late November of a National Parks and Wildlife Service South Australia brigade strike team member working as a firefighter with the Country Fire Service while undertaking remote firefighting on the Eyre Peninsula and the death on the weekend of a New South Wales Parks and Wildlife Service firefighter, plus the loss of more than 40 homes in both New South Wales and Tasmania have woken many to the start of the bushfire season across southern Australia. A farmer also died protecting his property in a fire in the south-west of Western Australia in early December.

The NSW NPWS acknowledged the loss in a public statement share on social media:

“It is with immense sadness that we confirm the death of a National Parks and Wildlife Service firefighter while working at a fireground south of Bulahdelah on Sunday night.

Our thoughts are with the firefighter’s family, friends and colleagues, including those from NPWS and NSW Rural Fire Service who were working alongside him.”

In the past week, fires at Koolewong and Bulahdelah in New South Wales destroyed 20 homes and a natural disaster has been declared in several local government areas, while wind-driven fires at Dolphin Sands along the picturesque east coast of Tasmania razed 19 houses and damaged dozens more.

While in November the Bureau of Meteorology confirmed a La Nina to welcome in the summer, it came with the qualification that the wet and cool weather may be brief. The heat well and truly arrived in December and, coupled with the fuel growth and long-term rainfall deficiencies in many regions, the bushfire summer began with several days of heat and wind.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanse has warned Australians of a “difficult” season ahead, with New South Wales in particular danger. He told ABC television:  

 “This summer, of course, like all summers that would appear in recent times, is going to be a difficult one. But New South Wales in particular has a range of preconditions, if you like, for being quite a difficult one.”