The fire near Gell River has burned over 37,000 acres
Continue readingLarge air tankers assisting with bushfires in Tasmania
A DC-10 air tanker working a fire in Tasmania February 12, 2016. Tasmania Fire Service photo.Bushfires that have been raging across northwest Tasmania for several weeks are still causing great concern in the island state south of Australia.
Three air tankers from North America that have been working in Australia during their summer bushfire season have been recently deployed to Tasmania, including a DC-10, Avro RJ85, and a C-130. This may be the first time large aerial firefighting assets have been used in the state. The Fire Service felt it was necessary to warn the residents to “not be alarmed” when they saw the air tankers “flying a bit low over the coast”.
In recent days some of the air tankers have departed from Avalon, near Melborne, and returned there after dropping retardant. Last month a portable retardant base was set up in northeast Tasmania at Launceston.
The video below shows the DC-10 dropping retardant out ahead of a fire in Tasmania. It is courtesy of Wayne Rigg of the Country Fire Authority.
A C-130 air tanker working a fire in Tasmania February 12, 2016. Tasmania Fire Service photo.
An air tanker working a fire in Tasmania February 12, 2016. Tasmania Fire Service photo.
The National Aerial Firefighting Centre created this poster illustrating the North American Air Tankers that are working in Australia during their 2015/2016 bushfire season.Coulson’s Air Tanker 132, an L-382G, first began helping the Tasmanians January 26 and was reloading at the temporary fire retardant base installed in Launceston.
More information about the bushfires in Tasmania is at Wildfire Today.
Bushfires continue to burn in Tasmania
At least 26 bushfires are being fought by firefighters in Tasmania.
Continue readingTanker 132 deployed to Tasmania
Tanker 132, an L-382, prepares to deploy to Tasmania. NWS RFS photo.Coulson’s Air Tanker 132, an L-382G, was deployed from the Australian mainland to Tasmania to help deal with the numerous bushfires across the state. The New South Wales Rural Fire Service reported that the aircraft is likely to remain there for a number of days.
Bushfire threatens coastal towns in northwest Tasmania
Some evacuation routes may be cut off by the fire.
Continue readingFirefighters in Tasmania battling numerous fires
More than 50 fires are burning uncontrolled across Tasmaina in Australia.
Continue readingTasmania fire requires evacuations
A 1,700-acre wildfire in northern Tasmania, an island state south of the Australian mainland, forced dozens of residents to evacuate Wednesday afternoon, local time. The fire started Tuesday afternoon during strong winds and was still burning actively on Wednesday, prompting firefighters to call for Bomber 390 (aka Tanker 131), the C-130H air tanker that has been stationed across the Bass Strait at Avalon, Victoria during the down under summer. This map shows the approximate location of the drop made by the air tanker east of George Town, Tasmania.
Authorities said on Wednesday the fire was expected to flare up again on Thursday, when winds are expected to pick up.
‘This fire will be difficult to control,’ the Tasmania Fire Service said in a statement. ‘Burning embers, falling on the township of Lefroy will threaten (homes) before the main fire.’
A Fire Dragon in Tasmania
I ran across this photo that accompanied an article in The Examiner about a prescribed fire in Tasmania, Australia. The caption is as it appeared in the article. Can anyone explain what a “fire dragon” is? I’m thinking it must be an aerial ignition device, but I’m wondering why the helicopter is hovering instead of landing in order to apparently transfer a hand-held device between the two people in the photo.
Satellite photo of fires in Tasmania
This NASA satellite photo shows the entire island of Tasmania south of Australia. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this image showing numerous fires across the island on January 6, 2013. Red outlines indicate hot spots where MODIS detected the unusually warm surface temperatures associated with fires. A higher-resolution version of the image can be downloaded HERE.
Firefighter dies in Australia
UPDATE: January 14, 2013. The deceased firefighter has been identified as Peter Ronald Cramer, 61, a 30-year volunteer from the town of Tyers, Victoria about 160km east of Melbourne. The latest information is that he been on foot identifying containment lines before he was found deceased on a track at 5pm on Sunday.
=========
A firefighter from Gippsland aged in his 60s died Sunday while working on a wildfire in Tasmania. The man was one of 70 from Victoria that had been sent to assist with the suppression of fires raging in the state. News.com.au reported that the firefighter was on foot conducting a backburning operation on the Forcett Fire when he was killed near Taranna, about 30 air miles southeast of Hobart (map).
The firefighter’s family has been notified but his name has not been released to the public.
The Forcett fire started on November 16 and has burned 24,040 hectares (59,404 acres) within a perimeter of 200km. It is being fought by 150 firefighters using 39 tankers and four aircraft.
Our sincere condolences go out to the firefighter’s family and co-workers.