Aerial firefighting arsenal of 38 water bombers to be ready from Monday ahead of difficult bushfire season

An arsenal of specialist firefighting aircraft has been deployed into WA’s most at-risk communities ahead of what is expected to be a long, dry and difficult bushfire season. The last of the Department of Fire and Emergency Services’ 38 water bombers will arrive in the state on Monday, with the touchdown of two Black Hawk helicopters and a mammoth C130 Hercules large air tanker aeroplane. “Given the recent seasonal outlook yesterday, which we already had an indication of, we’ve put additional (vehicle and aircraft) appliances up into the Mid West, and some 15 up into there, 12 down in the South West, and additional nine into Esperance,” DFES Commissioner Darren Klemm said on Friday. “That 300-odd kilometres range of hills that runs from up north down into the South West has always presented problems for us.” “The challenges of fighting fires in this sort of terrain was one of the main drivers for starting aerial firefighting,” he said. The mercury is forecast to begin climbing from Monday with a top of 38C expected in Perth. Ahead of the heat, the Emergency WA app has been updated with a new feature allowing users to create a single emergency plan for bushfires, cyclones, floods and storms, which will be available in the palm of their hand at a moment’s notice. “Should an emergency occur in one of your watch zones that you’ve identified, that means immediately you’ll get the notification of your plan onto your phone through the app,” Mr Klemm said. “Make sure you’re taking the time to sit down with your family and work out what your plan is going to be should an emergency impact your area. “Only as recently, in the past 24 hours, we’ve had a bushfire down in Aubin Grove, which is probably our first really significant bushfire in and around the metro area, so (it’s) a timely reminder to everyone to get themselves prepared for the coming next three or four months.” The Seasonal Bushfire Outlook released by the Australian and New Zealand Council for Fire and Emergency Services warns of an increased fire risk for Yalgoo, Geraldton Sandplains, the Swan Coastal Plain, Jarrah Forest, Esperance Plains and Mallee regions. Grass and shrub growth from heavy spring rains, combined with warmer-than-average temperatures and a low chance of summer rainfall has elevated the bushfire risks. Commissioner Klemm said his staff would be continuing to monitor conditions and respond as the weather warms up. “This is a daily and, sometimes, twice-daily event where we’re constantly reassessing the risks that the weather presents in line with soil dryness indicators,” he said. The updated Emergency WA app went live this week and is available for download.