Thank You Canada
How pro fire-fighters helped Australia’s Bushfire Crisis.
Christmas in Australia sizzles with summer heat. It means long holidays, close family, no school, getting wet in pools, ice-blocks, BBQ, beach picnics, presents, great food, beer and wine flowing. Chock-o-block with endless celebrations, that’s the way we do it here; but it’s a special holiday all over the world.
Brave professionals from Canada arrived December 21st, missing their Christmas at home. Thrown into wretched smoke haze, heatwaves and a war zone of bushfire, they offered a fresh outlook. They were experienced and knew what to do straight away. They gave relief to Aussie firies; volunteers exhausted after already battling flames for 10 weeks straight.
Could professional fire-fighters from a different climate make much difference?
They could, they did, and then some.
One Canadian fire fighting specialist called Kent came to look at a fire next to our north-western farming property at Stangars Road. It had burnt over 400 hectares; about 1000 acres. Nestled in steep old-growth forest that had never been cleared, the blaze threatened to cut off our only access road and surround us in fire. If it did, there would be no stopping its progress through an inaccessible mountain range that meandered over 40 km.
If uncontrolled, it had the potential to become a mega-fire.
On the eve of New Year’s Eve, my husband, his brother, neighbours and the crew of their bush fire brigade stood by as wild winds continually changed direction. Earlier than others, they saw a magnificent fireworks display. Flames, sparks and embers danced sky high, decorating the air with wildfire.
No amount of water would have helped.
At 9 pm my sister-in-law rang to say her husband and mine might need to stay out all night. I was home fretting, squeezing my own hands so much it hurt.
They came back at midnight when the wind settled. They’d cleared away fuel, made fire trails, fire-breaks and completed as much containment as they could since it started December 10th.
Six expert Canadians helped out at the Liverpool Range Fire Control Centre. They had accumulated knowledge on tackling forest fires in the Rockies. All 6 were from the CIFFC, or Canadian Inter-agency Forest Fire Centre. They helped local RFS, our Rural Fire Service, deal with our 2 major blazes as well as a whole section of NSW fires, where 5 million hectares have burnt out.
Six Canadians worked in incident management and logistics. Two were aviation based, controlling the surveillance planes and helicopters. They planned air attacks, coordinating the water bombing craft. The other 4 men offered planning skills to those in the operations room.
Australian bushfires behave differently. We couldn’t rely on water to put out fires. After 3 years of unrelenting drought; water is in short supply. Through climate change our farm has gone from being temperate to looking semi-arid.
Aerial water-bombers, fighting fire with fire and using heavy earth moving equipment to aid containment is the way to bring Oz fires under control. The Canadians assisted with that; they’re paid by their government.
The majority of RFS personnel are volunteers. Rural men and women who want to protect their country homes and the land that surrounds them. They are vetted, signed up, put on the books and trained in fire-fighting, but they’re unpaid. The professionals at Fire Stations in towns and cities only put out structural fires in buildings, not rural properties or national parks.
No fire-fighters, paid or unpaid, were prepared for the size, scope or seriousness of the largest fires anywhere in modern history. Australian fires burnt 10 million hectares; twice as much as the Amazon fires. Our current crisis burnt 13 times more land than in the 2018 California Wildfire Season.
Kent lives near the tar sands of Athabasca in Alberta. He told my husband he’d seen worse fires in the Canadian Rockies, but that Aussie fires were fearsome. He gave his expertise on how to best handle forest fires from the air. Back in Canada tomorrow, he was worried about going from +40 degrees C to -40 degrees C within a day or so.
I’m thankful he and so many other Canadians travelled here, missed a family holiday and helped our amazing guys bring bastard bushfires under control.
He coped with 3 heatwaves where mercury rose to 42 degrees C, or 107.6 F, and he was still smiling.
Kent and his colleagues honestly said they enjoyed our warm summer.
Tactical, strategic aid given by the pro-fire-fighters made a positive impact on the Australian Bushfire Disaster. Regardless of nationality, what every fire-fighter achieved was nothing short of wonderful.
I know every one of them deserves a medal.
Kent was 1 of 2 aviation based Canadians who mapped the fire grounds, monitored the situation and devised strategies to improve conditions. He was in charge of air operations, planning air attacks at the control centre.
My husband was told repeatedly that the RFS didn’t have the resources to water bomb our biggest bushfire. It burned though 1622 hectares around the tallest mountain on our farm. Deep ravines and steep cliffs proved inaccessible to the fire truck. Much of the high country had to be navigated on foot, and the hungry blaze grew larger over a fortnight.
My husband spent all hours, all day and half his nights at the fire front. In a state of high anxiety, I’d worry from the moment he left until he came home. It was like seeing him head off to war. I knew he would keep us safe, but never really knew if he’d come home safely.
It didn’t help when I could see smoke plumes sway and blossom from half the windows in our house. Obsessively checking the Fires Near Me website and continually looking through binoculars to search out flames isn’t good for anyone’s mental health.
Sleeping was a succession of nightmares. I’d wake in the small, dark hours and smell smoke. Tasting ashes at the back of my throat, I couldn’t settle until I checked the fire wasn’t closer. Then I’d be wide awake frightening myself with what-ifs until daylight.
Christmas afternoon I heard a helicopter overhead. I thought it was an aircraft checking terrain as usual until I heard it again. And again. That mighty chopper dumped load after load of water on our bushfire for hours.
On the 3rd pass, I ran outside.
As excited as any kid has ever been at Christmas, I waved to the pilot. Standing outside in heat and smoke I couldn’t stop myself waving, weeping tears of joy. I love birds, but that big bird in the sky really made my day. I didn’t know if Kent was responsible, or if it was one of our guys that made the decision to water bomb, I was just happy someone did.
Whoever it was, I could kiss them.
We had 5 fires started by lightning after a dry storm 6 weeks ago.
They are all out or close to it; no danger now.
The Peppermint Gums, Stringy Barks, Apple trees, Yellow Jackets and White Box that make up the eucalypt forest are dead or dying. They are dull brown or grey now, but they were green giants once.
Kent gave my husband this patch of his flag to sew on his hi-vis fire suit.
The Canadian ‘firies’ are heading home.
I hope they’re welcomed back as heroes.
Kent and the guys deserve all that and more.
