DFES Grain Harvest Aerial Fleet based in Geraldton early to protect farmers in the Mid West-Gascoyne region

A strike team has dropped down in Geraldton early to prepare for this year’s harvest season to protect farmers in the region in the case of crop fires. The Department of Fire and Emergency Services’ Grain Harvest Aerial Fleet has been activated early, safeguarding grain growers during fire-prone harvest season. One strike team has been sent to Geraldton, while the second is stationed in Narrogin. During the 2023-24 harvest, strike teams completed 216 drops across 33 incidents, dropping 680,400 litres on fire grounds from Geraldton to Esperance. Fleets feature two fixed-wing waterbombers, an air attack supervision aircraft and a fuel truck. Waterbombers can drop up to 3150L of water, foam or retardant and can quickly refuel or reload. Strike teams can be pre-deployed to other airbases as required and will move south as the harvest stretches into December. Emergency Services Minister Stephen Dawson said grain growers were in for a bumper year and the strike teams would be on standby to respond and protect crops. “The onset of grain harvest increases the risk of fires, so we’re getting ahead of the game by activating specialised aerial strike teams that can be deployed to high-priority incidents at short notice,” he said. Geraldton MLA Lara Dalton said the program was proven to be effective and she was thrilled to see it activated early this season. “This measure is crucial in protecting our grain crops and our farmers as the weather starts heating up,” she said. “As we anticipate a bumper crop this year, the readiness of our aerial firefighting teams is more critical than ever.” DFES commissioner Darren Klemm said this was the fourth season strike teams had been running and proactively protecting lives and homes. “Crop fires can spread incredibly quickly in these high fuel load areas as the weather heats up and the surrounding vegetation dries out, so we’ve based waterbombing aircraft in strategic locations to provide a rapid firefighting response,” he said.