2016/17 Fire Season report
Published Date: 12 Apr 2017
Summary
The Mid Murray Zone 2016/17 Bush Fire Danger Period (BFDP) ended at Midnight on the 31st of March, 2017.
In October 2016 the Mid Murray Zone saw a devastating finish to what was a very wet winter with wide spread flooding, forcing the evacuation of some towns, total crop loss, roads destroyed, and wildlife killed. Because of this wet weather we faced fuel loadings that some have described as the worst they’ve seen since 1993.
Despite the outlook and conditions at the start of the season, the Mid Murray has come out of the 2016/17 BFDP relatively unscathed.
Historically, lightening has been one of the more prominent causes of fires in the Mid Murray Zone, often causing multiple fires to form at the same time, often leaving crews overwhelmed as they may be attacking 3 or 4 fires in a single brigade area. This year however, there was less lightening activity than normal and what lightening did occur was largely followed by rain that helped suppress any outbreaks of fire.
This BFDP the stand out issue was permit burn escapes. While most permit holders did the right thing, heavy fuel loads in their stubble generated much stronger heats and in turn, their own localized weather, with winds carrying flames across fire breaks in a matter of seconds. Permit escapes accounted for 29 incidents during the BFDP, most of which resulted in multiple brigades being responded.
Fire fighting aircraft were a regular occurrence at the Deniliquin Airport, with aircraft often allocated to the area on days of Total Fire Ban, for which there was 12. Prior to the season commencing, Deniliquin Rural Fire Brigade and the Deniliquin Volunteer Rescue Association (VRA) conducted joint training on aircraft reloading operations. Thankfully, this teamwork was only needed in anger once this season, due to a large fire to the South West of Deniliquin.
While the number of incidents this BFDP was considered a normal number, what was above normal is the number of multiple brigade incidents. This is testament to the fire behaviour generated due to heavy fuel loads.
There were no formal deployments out of area this year, however Mid Murray Zone fire fighters did attend many incidents in our neighbouring zones when requested, including multiple incidents in Victoria around the Swan Hill region at the request of the Country Fire Authority (CFA). Our neighbours were quick to return the favour whenever we needed them, coming into the Mid Murray Zone to assist with fires near our joint boarders.
All in all, this has been a good season for the Mid Murray Zone. We have kicked off the training season strong with 20 new members completing the Bush Firefighter course at Pretty Pine on the 1st and 2nd of April, with another 20 completing the same course the following weekend (8th/9th) at Koraleigh. These new members add to our strong team of dedicated volunteers and boost our operational capabilities ahead of the 2017/18 BFDP.
We have a big year ahead. Medal ceremonies, staff changes, station builds, new trucks, and plenty more training is on the books, as well as beginning our preparations for the next fire season now.
If you are interested in joining the Rural Fire Service or would like to know more about the Mid Murray Zone you can call (03) 5881 5351, email midmurray.zone@rfs.nsw.gov.au. Or visit the Volunteer section of this website.
Contact Name: Inspector James Puniard
Contact Phone: (03) 5881 5351
