DFES waterbomber fleet makes early start as WA harvest ramps up

WA’s Grain Harvest Aerial Fleet program has been activated early as fire risks continue to escalate during harvest time, with two waterbomber aerial strike teams now put on stand by in Geraldton and Narrogin. The aerial fleets, which are managed by the Department of Fire and Emergency Services, are made up of two fixed wing waterbombers, an air attack supervision aircraft and a fuel truck. The aircrafts can cruise at a speed of 280kmh and drop up to 3150 litres of water, retardant, or foam. The GHAF program could not come soon enough, and was quickly put to use when a bushfire was was reported in the Narrogin shire the same day the aerial fleets were put on standby on November 1. DFES issued an advice alert at 12.35pm for the blaze, which was reported near Nomans Lake in the Shire of Narrogin at 9.36am. By 3.27pm, volunteer brigades and farmer units from Narrogin, Wickepin and Wagin had brought the blaze under control with the help of two water bombers and were patrolling the area and mopping up. Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner Darren Klemm said DFES was closely monitoring fire conditions across the Wheatbelt, Mid West and Great Southern. “In previous years the strike teams have been very successful in bringing crop fires under control before they destroy a farmer’s livelihood, which is why we’ve activated the fleet for a fourth consecutive season,” he said. The GHAF program is in it’s fourth year. During the 2023-24 harvest, strike teams completed 216 drops across 33 incidents from Geraldton to Esperance, dropping more than 680,000 litres of water on fire grounds. WA Emergency services minister Stephen Dawson said it was important to stay “ahead of the game” and to implement specialised aerial strike teams that could attend high-priority fires at short notice. “It’s about taking the pressure off our farmers, who are usually first responders themselves, by providing extra resourcing when it is needed most,” he said. “The waterbombers can reach an incident very quickly and reload and go again within minutes to help suppress a fire that is a threat to the community.” WA Agriculture Minister Jackie Jarvis said the early implementation of the program would ensure farming communities were prepared during this “high risk” time. “This initiative reduces response times and increases firefighting capability, helping to protect the lives and livelihoods of WA’s hard-working farmers and their communities,” she said. The waterbombers will move south as the harvest continues into December to extend protection to the Esperance region.