The power and value of Victoria’s aerial firefighting force could not have been more evident at the weekend as the worst element of summer again reared its head throughout CFA District 15.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
More than 40 hectares of land was scorched at Mount Misery just outside of Waubra on Friday, while a small army of firefighters battled hard to overcome a 250-hectare blaze north of Smeaton.
The consistent element to success in both instances come from the sky, as a combination of Helitak choppers, fixed wing planes and the giant air crane helicopter worked hard to extinguish the blazes before they caused damage to homes and humans.
In the case of Smeaton, CFA District 15 operations officer Kade Downie put it simply: “The difference between us stopping the fire and not stopping it was the aerial support”.
The success further adds weight to the need for a city of Ballarat’s size to be able to host a fleet of emergency services aircraft to help put out fires fires before they spread.
The reason such works haven’t been commissioned by the Canberra or Spring Street is clear.
Aviation is expensive business.
Ballarat City Council’s lobbying documents show stage one of the development would cost $37 million, followed by a further $27 million to complete the build.
But in a state like Victoria where bushfires have so consistently ravaged communities, the real question must be whether we can afford not to do everything in our powers to avoid catastrophe.
The proposal would see the existing Ballarat Airport transformed into an emergency services hub capable of servicing the whole of Victoria, and in some instances parts of South Australia and New South Wales.
While the cost has consistently proved the biggest hurdle, Emergency Management commissioner Craig Lapsley has publicly pledged his support for the location.
The CFA’s new and improved approach of sending aircraft to fires earlier has to be commended.
Repeatedly over the past two fire seasons we’ve seen blazes stopped in their tracks thanks to increased vigilance from the air.
Anticipating the fire threat earlier last week, the giant Erickson air crane was shifted from Melbourne to Lethbridge, outside of Geelong.
But with the weekend’s fires under control, the mammoth chopper returned to its base in the city.
In the long term, its home could be much closer.
